Most decision makers look upon crowd-work as a cost savings and it most certainly can be. But if the only goal is to get your shiny new widget built as inexpensively as possible, then you will get just that -- a cheaply made shiny new widget. Now, while cost savings...
Artificial Intelligence
4 Reasons You Should Use Crowdsourcing
How many times have you said it? How many times have you said -- “only if I had two more people,” “only if I had a bigger budget,” “only if I had more time.” These are all common statements that plague companies of all different sizes. You understand this better than...
Education for All (EFA) Uses Crowdsourcing to Solve Issues
There is no limit to the incredible -- positive -- impact that crowdsourcing has on any one opportunity. Crowdsourcing can be used to solve the most mundane of projects -- to building the most advanced armored personnel carrier for the US military. Education for All...
Crowdflower Covers Crowdsourcing 101 and Unstructured Data
This is a very nice Webinar sponsored by Crowdlfower. They are covering "Crowdsourcing 101." I also like the fact that Crowdflower also mentions microtasking. The video is about 37 minutes long -- but it's worth it.
Let DARPA Tell You Why You Need the Crowd
Do you still have doubt or uncertainty in the application of crowdsourcing? I hear the arguments all the time -- “there are no standards,” “there is no accountability,” “are they skilled labor,” etc. And in all honesty they are not stupid questions. They are...
The Crowdfunding Bill Will Help Startups
Today is the day that the crowdfunding ecosystem in the US rejoices -- more specifically startups and small businesses. President Obama will sign the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into law. The law allows non-accredited investors to invest in startups --...
Ushahidi’s Juliana Rotich Becomes the Latest Advisor to Crowdsourcing Week
Over the past few months Crowdsourcing Week under the supervision of co-founders -- Epirot Ludvik Nekaj, Rose Kemps and Peter Davison is really heating-up. The trio has been able to take Crowdsourcing Week from an idea to a full-blown organization with a major event...
Josh Soskin Creates a Chevrolet Volt Commercial
It seems that one of the main benefactors of crowdsourcing is the artisan -- specifically filmmakers and photographers. iStockPhoto was one of the first platforms to first be anointed as a crowdsourcing platform. And since 2006 there seems to be a steady uptick in...
Patrick McHenry Speaking in Support of the Crowdfunding — JOBS Act
Yesterday was a big day for crowdfunding. While it is supported by the Senate, House and President; there are many within the government and private sector that see crowdfunding as problematic. One of the main supporters of crowdfunding is Congressman Patrick McHenry...
Heinz Ketchup Crowdsourcing its New Slogan
So I am a big fan of Heinz Ketchup. I mean, I really like Heinz -- it’s a staple in my household. And while I don’t “Like” them on Facebook -- I think they have taken a bold step in asking its consumers for slogan ideas. Why is this such a bold step? Heinz is using...
President Obama to Sign the Crowdfunding Bill into Law
So what crowdfunding? According to Wikipedia -- the crowd-powered reference site: “...the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by...
298 Years of the History of Crowdsourcing
So what does the history of crowdsourcing look like? I mean everything has to start somewhere and in business the longer it's been around the better -- right? Now while Jeff Howe coined the phrase "crowdsourcing" -- crowdsourcing has been around since at least 1714....
Tim O’Reilly Speaks about the Crowdsourcing Community
Tim O'Reilly is such a wonderful speaker. I met him once at Tools of Change, in New York City. The conversation was very brief but I quickly realized why people gravitate to the man. During this TEDMED talk O’Reilly speaks about the power of communities. He continues...
Crowdsourcing Ethics Why is Important
The question of ethics is always a question. This is true whether you are speaking about personal or corporate ethics. But why am I talking to you about crowdsourcing ethics? I previously explained that crowdsourcing is not an industry but a work process? So how can...
Answering Your Most Common Crowdsourcing Questions (Infographic)
Over the past few years crowdsourcing has receied a great deal of attention. This is most certainly a combination of social media and the adoption by startups and small businesses. Now while we are seeing an increase in attention -- more serious questions are being...
Making a Case for the Use of Crowdsourcing
So why are startups and small businesses driving the growth of crowdsourcing? Why would they be driving a sector that up until 6 years ago was almost nonexistent -- and for the most part is not an actual industry. The basis for this adoption is a near bottomless...
Crowdsourcing Breaks The Enterprise Glass Ceiling
The concept of “crowdsourcing” – which has many varying definitions and connotations–has grown exponentially over the last few years as more and more companies are recognizing the “power of the crowd.” There are many examples of well-known brands putting the power of...
The What and How of Crowdsourcing
Back in 2006 Jeff Howe coined the phrase crowdsourcing. He did so in the 2006 Wired magazine article -- "The Rise of Crowdsourcing." In the article Howe discusses the impact of crowd services like iStockPhoto. And how a service was born out of freely sharing images...