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This may be the first time you've heard the term "crowdsourcing," but it won't likely be the last.

There are various technical definitions, but essentially, crowdsourcing means getting reliable information from a "crowd."

Let's think about how that might work. Perhaps you magically have access to all the text messages that are being sent out from the new Cowboys Stadium during a game. Without being there — and without watching or listening to a broadcast — chances are you would be able to accurately determine when a touchdown was scored based on nothing more than those messages.

A real-world example of crowdsourcing came recently in Iran, during the often violent street demonstrations following the disputed presidential election. Foreign correspondents were not permitted out of their hotel rooms, so they were unable to witness what was happening.

Networks and news agencies instead relied on a flood of messages, photos and video clips posted to Twitter, Facebook and other Internet message boards.

This is relatively new territory for newsgathering organizations that traditionally like to employ their own trained journalists to observe and report. But when there is so much information coming in from a street demonstration — and when the "crowd" is in agreement about what is happening — CNN, AP, the BBC and others are increasingly likely to report it as fact (at least with an asterisk about the story's origin).

This week, Google took crowdsourcing to a new and useful level that could directly help you on your drive to and from work.

It's all tied in with the handy (and free) Google Maps for Mobile application that's available for a wide variety of smartphones with a built-in global positioning system (GPS) chip, including Windows Mobile devices, the Palm Pre and BlackBerry models (iPhones with Google Maps for Mobile don't yet have the crowdsourcing tool enabled).

How does it work? Simple. If you authorize the map application's Latitude function, it will anonymously report your speed and position back to Google's traffic computer, which then aggregates that real-time data with information from other motorists and sends it back to the map on your phone as green, yellow and red legends to visually indicate where traffic is flowing and where it is stalled.

If your regular route is lined with red, you'll want to consider another option.

The more drivers who have Google Maps for Mobile activated, the more accurate the traffic picture will be.

Google acknowledges that some users may be reluctant to dispatch their driving data to a central repository, but says the Latitude function that enables the crowdsourcing feedback is an option that must explicitly be turned on. You can still use Google Maps for Mobile and benefit from the traffic information provided by others without contributing to the "crowd."

Google says it permanently deletes the information about your route after the instantaneous data is digested.

I have my Samsung Jack cell phone mounted in a dashboard holder in my car where I can easily see the screen (and where I can keep it plugged in to a power supply so the battery doesn't drain). Latitude is turned on, and in the last week or so I've noted how much more accurate the speed information appears to be (at least on the routes that I travel).

Another bonus of the crowdsourcing data is that Google can now provide traffic information on roads and streets away from the fixed speed sensors along main highways (as long as there are enough users to generate reliable results). See this for yourself by going to Google Maps on your home or notebook computer and clicking the "Traffic" button. Zoom in for a close-up view and you may see color-coded lines along local routes thanks to motorists willing to share their position data.

Google's new mapping function seems to me a terrific, very democratic way for motorists to help each other get from Point A to Point B more efficiently. If your phone is compatible, why not join the crowd?

E-mail askwalt@wfaa.com