Crowdsourcing is the ability to use a crowd of people for any project or task. Typically performed on the internet, the practice is used to outsource work to the crowd.
Whats the difference between Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding
Both Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding use the crowd to accomplish something, but they are used in different ways. Crowdfunding is specifically designed for generating capital, whether it be for a new start-up business, a specific product or service. Crowdsourcing, however, is designed to accomplish a particular goal or provide a specific service. Crowdsourced services such as Amazon Mechanical Turk where people can complete particular tasks and earn money is a good example of Crowdsourcing. Companies, however, have taken this idea one step further and have created Crowdsourcing platforms. Much like Crowdfunding, these platforms can host multiple campaigns.
A good example of a Crowdsourcing platform is Lego Ideas. It lets the crowd design a new product, then uses the popularity of the particular product to determine if they will manufacture the product. Not only will the creator of the new lego product be able to see his/her design in the stores, but will also receive a percentage of the sales. Its a win for both the people who want to design and for the company as it can test to see if the product will fair well in the market. Large enterprises are beginning to adopt this type of platform to help market and create new products. Much like the Crowdfunding idea, those who are creating a campaign on a Crowdsourcing platform run the risk of falling short of the goal in mind. An advantage to these campaigns, however, is similar to Crowdfunding, as companies can take advantage of testing a product in a real-world environment, to see if the product will succeed.
Different types of Crowdsourcing
As you can tell, Crowdsourcing is a general term and can be categorized further. To help you better understand the different types of Crowdsourcing, we have created a list:
Crowdcontests: A platform or website is hosting a contest, much like the lego example above, and uses the crowd in a contest to complete the task.
Macrotasks: Much like the Amazon Mechanical Turk this method uses the Crowd for a specific task. Many people can be hired to do this, or even individuals.
Self-organized crowds: A good example of self-organized crowds is Wikipedia. People can add content to a database of information. It is self-organized and hosted, as users can help edit the content on the page.
Although Crowdfunding and Crowdsourcing are similar, they can be used in different ways. They can be used as powerful tools for innovation and organizations. For more information on Crowdfunding, be sure to visit Thrinacia’s Blog.