The term crowdsourcing was first coined by Jeff Howe in a June 2006 Wired magazine article titled “The Rise of Crowdsourcing” to describe a process whereby organizations outsource work that is normally done by internal staff and contractors to an undefined group of people in the form of an open call. This allows for a high level of interactivity and collaboration between organizations and consumers, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
Benefits of Crowdsourcing for Organizations
For businesses, crowdsourcing presents an opportunity to lower expenses while maintaining their creative and operational footing in the marketplace. Rather than hiring expensive engineers, designers and other specialists, companies can tap the creative and inspired talents of the masses for the accomplishment of these same tasks, often at little or no cost.
Moreover, crowdsourcing can facilitate the incorporation of consumers’ tastes and preferences into the development of brands. Rather than trying to understand what consumers want through surveys and focus groups, for example, a company could have its most valued customers actually participate in the development process through the submission of ideas. This makes for more relevant products and services and could lead to an increase in sales.
Benefits of Crowdsourcing for Consumers
For consumers, crowdsourcing presents an opportunity for personal fulfillment. Every day, thousands of people write and edit Wikipedia entries for free. Why? It is a chance for them to express their knowledge and abilities in exchange for little more than the pure satisfaction gained from their efforts.
Moreover, crowdsourcing opens the door for virtual unknowns in their fields to gain large-scale recognition for their talents. Graphic designers, for example, can submit their artwork to a record label crowdsourcing creative material for its next big album release: And they just might succeed at landing one of their concepts on the cover.
An Example of Crowdsourcing
One excellent example of crowdsourcing is Pepsi’s “Design Our Pepsi Can” promotion, which has ended as of this writing. Consumers could design their own Pepsi can through the promotion’s interactive Web site where all the tools were provided to facilitate this effort. Pepsi received can design ideas that the company would normally have to pay designers to create and, in exchange, it offered winners a cash prize and the chance to have their design featured on Pepsi or Diet Pepsi cans. This example is just one of many that illustrate the viability of crowdsourcing for businesses and consumers alike.
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