The Masses

Have you ever heard the saying “Two heads are better than one?” Multiply that the total number of internet users and you get crowdsourcing. Late last year the Pew Internet & American Life Project released a study revealing that 57 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds online – 12 million individuals – are creating content of some sort and posting it to the Web. Crowdsourcing is based on the framework of collective intelligence (Levy 1997), the idea that knowledge is more accurate when it consists of inputs from a population. Together we are smarter than individually. The Internet allows people to engage with other people and on a much larger scale than previously imagined by communication scholars.

The term “crowdsourcing” was coined by Jeff Howe in 2006. Crowdsourcing has been with us for quite a while; it just got its new catchy name recently. Howe identifies four types of crowdsourcing that all depend on some contribution from a crowd:
1.       Crowd wisdom
2.       Crowd creation
3.       Crowd voting
4.       Crowd funding

Crowdsourcing is becoming more popular among organizations looking for solutions with design, product development and problem solving. Compared to the cost of hiring a trained professional, entrepreneurs have saved time and money on research and development.  Resources are provided on the global scale when using this approach. The power of the crowd is driving the future of business.

Companies like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk provide a web-based marketplace that gives businesses access to a diverse workforce and gives workers a selection of thousands of tasks to complete whenever it's convenient.  The tasks include such things as identifying items in a photograph, skimming real estate documents to find identifying information, writing short product descriptions or transcribing podcasts. Traditionally, tasks like this have been accomplished by hiring a large temporary workforce which is time consuming and expensive. Amazon calls the tasks HITs (human intelligence tasks); they’re designed to require little time, and they offer very little compensation. Every little bit counts and the cents add up and soon enough the cents will add up to dollars. It’s like an online piggy bank for doing various chores.

iStockphoto is a great place for businesses to go when they are searching for images for their advertising or promotional materials. iStock offers  photographs, illustrations, videos, sound effects and more at affordable prices and are exceptional quality. Artists, designers and photographers from around the world come here to create, work and sell original content of their own. 

Innocentive offers a network of scientists. Companies like Boeing, DuPont, and Procter & Gamble now post their most difficult scientific problems on InnoCentive’s Web site; anyone on InnoCentive’s network can take a shot at cracking them. The rewards can vary anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 per solution. That’s pocket change compared to paying the salaries of a group of scientists that it would take to solve your problem. Not to mention the money the company will make off of the product. It’s a win-win situation.

Brands often seek engagement with their consumers through crowdsourcing with requests for feedback, contests, polls or surveys. Starbucks “My Starbucks Idea” campaign encourages feedback on the brand and product level. Starbucks is getting a steady stream of feedback and ideas while deepening the bond with their customers. Starbucks has created their own social network webpage where consumers can all gather and submit ideas. The site allows participants to view, share, vote, and comment on ideas submitted. They also keep consumers in the loop on what ideas they are implementing. Below is a list of some of the great ideas that came from consumers:

·         Gratuity when using gift cards

·         Rewards card

·         Free drink when you purchase a mug or tumbler

·         Make Starbucks an after dinner destination

·         Design a cup contest

What a great concept. Starbucks is improving their business with external feedback from customers. Sometimes it’s difficult to think like a customer and what better way to know what the customer want than giving them an opportunity to show you.

Crowdsourcing is not the solution for every business, but it is another tool that businesses can use to improve their brand. If used appropriately it can be a great success. As with anything, there can be cons to using this method with the masses. It takes a lot of time to sort through the many ideas that come your way. Finding the right idea could be like finding a needle in a hay stack. Also, make sure to cover yourself legally. The person submitting the idea may want to sell the idea as intellectual property.

Once an organization decides to give crowdsourcing a try, it is important to motivate people to participate. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators have been proven to be successful. Intrinsic motivation is internal and provides a benefit to the participant, such as enjoyment.  Extrinsic motivators provide an incentive such as money or a prize.

In Clay Sharky’s YouTube video he explains the internet brings us a different kind of society. “Group action just got easier.” We are living thru the largest increase in him human expressive capability and crowdsourcing offers a way for businesses to take advantage of this. 

What are your thoughts on crowdsourcing? How can you see organizations successfully implementing crowdsourcing into their research and development process?