What is Crowdsourcing?

"Necessity is the mother of Invention" said Plato, the Greek philosopher

Technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals. Internet has fuelled innovation through the free exchange of ideas and collaboration with anyone across the globe. There is a phenomenon once heralded for its ability to disrupt the traditional model of business by leveling the experts and amateurs alike.

Hobbyists and part-timers have a market for their efforts, as smart companies discover ways to tap the talent of the crowd. Of course they are paid for their effort. It costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.

Crowdsourcing is a distributed problem-solving model. Problems are broadcast to an unknown group of solvers in the form of an open call for solutions. Users (the crowd), form into online communities, and the crowd submit solutions. The best solutions are then owned by the entity (Crowdsourcer) that broadcast the problem and the winning individuals in the crowd are rewarded.

The difference between crowdsourcing and ordinary outsourcing is that a task or problem is outsourced to an undefined public rather than a specific other body.

Benefits of crowdsourcing include:

• Problems can be explored at comparatively little cost, and often very quickly.
• The organization can tap a wider range of talent than might be present in its own organization.
• By listening to the crowd, organizations gain first-hand insight on customer desires.
• It gives you the means to tap your crowd for clear business purpose.
• Identify new and innovative ideas
• Reduce the cost of innovation
• Reduce costs related to market research

The popularity of Crowdsourcing is because of:

• Agencies have been screwing and over charging clients for way too long,
• The accessibility of media tools to the public allowing for artists to emerge,
• The design people charge too much for little.
• Recession

This methodology doesn’t come without its risks - Disadvantages:

• Here, the results are not always immediate and quality is quite variable
• IP ownership issues of crowdsourced products/services
• Threat of competitors acting on some of the ideas as the ideas is available in the public domain

One of the examples of crowdsourcing is:

Google is using its Google Moderator product to help people share ideas on how to save money in recessionary times. Moderator is a tool that helps groups determine which questions should be asked at all-hands meetings, conferences, and online Q&A sessions, among other scenarios. Google has set up a site called Tip Jar, which is powered by Moderator, to gathers money-saving tips in one place and allow visitors to vote and rank them in order of usefulness. The most popular tips will rise to the top of the list. And users can submit tips to the lists as well.

List of few crowdsourcers are available at openinnovators and crowdspring