Crikey was crowd sourcing long before there was a lame name for it.

For 10 years we’ve tapped into the knowledge and resources of our intelligent, plugged-in and have we mentioned good-looking readership when compiling lists and soliciting for tips and rumours.

But last year The Guardian upped the crowd sourcing ante with its breathtaking MPs expenses project. The UK broadsheet managed to coax thousands of readers into helping them rifle through 458,832 pages of documents. In an effort to inspire their readers to pour over food bills, travel accounts and restaurant receipts, The Guardian wrote:

Some pages will be covering letters, or claim forms for office stationery. But somewhere in here is the receipt for a duck island.

It’s that tantalising prospect that has so far inspired 25,541 Guardian readers to review 218,617 pages.

At Crikey, we want to inspire you to find your own duck island. And then give it to us. Starting today with the AEC’s annual political donations data, uploaded at 9am today. Long a rich Crikey tradition, this time every year we pore over the AEC filings to see what we can dig up.

Possum Comitatus has already asked his Pollytics readers to yell out, and we’ve put the call out on Twitter: but here’s the selling point — not only will you get your name up in lights if you stumble across something that quacks, we’ll also flick you a prize.

Call it bribery if you want, but the No.1 rule of this kind of reader involvement is to make it fun. After all, we’re not paying you.*

We want to indulge in more of this crowd sourcing caper, not only for what it will unearth, but also for the interesting questions it raises for online investigative journalism. We might be cheap, but we’re also wonky. So email us at boss@crikey.com.au if you find anything of note. There’s some socks in it for you.

* Just to be clear on that point: we are not paying you.