january 8, 8:00pm, let go
MTurk options:
MTurk payment: $0.20
Number responses: 31
Avg time/task: 3:37
Avg MTurk interaction rating: 3.5
There is that moment every night, walking alone through the dark in an unfamiliar part of town to some unknown location that I just pray has 4G coverage to meet up with some guy whose name I barely remember, pockets full of devices, where I feel a little scared and wonder what exactly I’m doing and whether I actually am a crazy person. Luckily, there are enough details to distract me. I am starting to get a handle on the logistics of the system. I pause before walking in the door, hit start on my Amazon MTurk batch job, fire up the streaming app, make sure the camera is well-positioned in my purse, reapply lipstick.
I recognize him immediately when I sit down, the kind of guy I would normally walk the other direction from. But I thought, what is this if not a chance to get to know people that I wouldn’t normally? He looks me up and down and orders me a drink without asking what I want. ‘Thank you’, the workers tell me to say. My number #2 reason for doing this project and #2 biggest fear is loss of control. But who is really in control? Me, as the one using this unknowing guy for my project? Him, because I need his participation, because I need him to like me enough to stay and interact? The workers, because they are determining my words and actions? I am spewing random phrases and questions supplied by workers, I sound like an idiot, he doesn’t really seem to notice.
It seems that $0.20 wasn’t enough, I think $0.25 is a sort of cut off when workers are searching for jobs.