• 
• 
• 
• 

• Home >
• Resources >
• Articles >
• An Introduction to Crowdsourcing

An Introduction to Crowdsourcing

By Damian Burke on 2008/10/29

Crowdsourcing is the process of appealing to the general public in an open forum to reach a goal as an alternative to delegating the task to an employee or outsourcing to a specific third party.

The term was originally coined by Jeff Howe in an article on Wired.com in 2006, but is hardly a new concept - it's simply more universal in modern times. Reaching a broad audience has never been as easy with today's active online community.

Why is Crowdsourcing Effective?

By using volunteer enthusiasts, contributions and resolutions are not time or money dependent. The pool of global resources lifts many restrictions which could previously delay progress. With crowdsourcing, a solution, or numerous different solutions can literally develop overnight.

A popular buzzword with eMarketing specialists and online gurus, crowdsourcing has received its fair share of criticisms. Critics argue that the quality of work is not assured and sources may not be reliable. The formal agreements between the agents and the contributors have been questioned. Remuneration for the services and the possibility of businesses relying on 'free employment' rather than traditional outsourcing and ultimately job creation is also a noted concern.

Some feel it may have negative effects on current business models, but these concerns are being ironed out as the principles of crowdsourcing unfold, and the platforms and methods used develop into a completely new avenue of online 'employment'.

Appealing to an undefined public for ideas or manpower, questions or answers, research, creative innovation and other contributions has proved successful in many crowdsourcing projects. The methods are changing the global model for outsourcing and human resources by levelling the playing field between the parties.

Newcomers are given an opportunity to practice their skills, and veterans are challenged to keep on their toes, and are rewarded for a short term commitment, while businesses benefit from consumer involvement and a streamlined means to solutions.

The platforms used to manage the crowdsourcing depend on the solution needed. Often, contributors work together in a communication network, sharing ideas and an active involvement, while other solutions may be determined by a single voice in the crowd.

What Constitutes Crowdsourcing?

The line between crowdsourcing and many other principles can be quite fine. Wikipedia, and other consumer generated websites, has been loosely referred to as forms of crowdsourcing - the backbone of the website is constructed, leaving the actual content to the users.

Another close comparison is the SETI@home project which appealed to personal Internet users to use their free computing resources to 'listen' for extra-terrestrial signals, but this was considered 'volunteer computing'.

On the other hand, the experimental ClickWorkers project was a successful crowdsourcing venture which asked the online public to help with the mapping of craters on Mars - a mammoth task requiring human perception rather than computerised analysis.

Noteworthy Crowdsourcing Projects

Idea Bounty
Idea Bounty is a new platform designed to connect those looking for creative solutions with a creative audience.

After setting the bounty, businesses can submit their briefs online and appeal to the global audience, and whoever posts the best solution gets the reward, or 'bounty' - simple, effective and beneficial for all.

Traditional methods would mean a limited pool of resources for businesses and the possibility of a lengthy commitment to the project for creatives.

The ideas and concepts remain the property of the creatives until they have been paid, and are often paid for the concept and not the total execution.

Threadless.com
Threadless is a popular example of how crowdsourcing can be used effectively. The business model is at the cutting edge of eCommerce. With a strong community centre, the clothing company features the submissions of crowdsourced designs while also listening to the community about which t-shirts to sell and how many they should manufacture.

According to an article on Wired.com's blog network, Threadless was selling 60,000 shirts every month with a staff compliment of less than 20 in 2006 - but what constitutes the difference between an employee and a contributor? Does it matter? The business plan is remarkably simple and an almost flawless approach to supply and demand; public designs, public decides.

Peer-to-Patent
Launched in 2007 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and still going strong, the unique Peer-to-Patent project was developed to appeal to experts in various fields to help with patent application reviews.

The Peer-to-Patent project lists application documents online, and invites anyone and everyone to review them in an effort to speed up the review processes, while also increasing the quality of the review examination and minimising patent infringements.

The project has seen much interest from individuals as well as many large corporations in various sectors, offering a helping hand to improve the current systems.

Conclusion

In keeping with the growth and development of the Internet, crowdsourcing is changing the face of human resources and the way we see day today business, while placing the power in the hands of the consumer.

Crowdsourcing: "The application of Open Source principles to fields outside of software". - Jeff Howe

The changing model for outsourcing promotes holistic development as much as it creates a fair and productive relationship between businesses and the consumer.

Home About Services Portfolio Resources Blog Contact Sitemap Privacy Policy