What is the Crowdsourcing Model?
The crowdsourcing model is the method of engaging a group or individuals for a common goal. The goals are often problem-solving, innovation or efficiency. It involves new technologies, web 2.0 and social media. You can apply these methods on different levels and in any type of industry. The growing connection because of the internet, makes it easier for individuals to contribute, whether with their expertise, ideas, time or funds in a cause or project. This collective working is called crowdsourcing.
It is a process that involves groups or individuals, paid or unpaid, joined together with a common interest to achieve the results through their segregated activities or actions. The word “source” comes from the Latin word “surgere,” which means to lift or rise.
This helps organizations to get access to new solutions and ideas, opportunities for correlation, more consumer engagement, reduced cost and optimization of tasks. Social media and the internet play a great role in bringing companies closer to their stakeholders, opening new ways of collaboration, and creating value like never before.
Types of Crowdsourcing Models
Crowd Labor
Crowd labor helps to lower the gap between supply and demand for labor by achieving a distributed labor pool by carrying out tasks virtually.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding aids in collecting capital for new businesses and products through sponsorships and donations from the general public and online investors. GoFundMe is one of the popular examples of this model.
Open Innovation
Open innovations are the act of asking individuals outside the company for unique and innovative ideas such as Cisco iPrize or My Starbuck Idea.
Crowdsourcing Design
This involves outsourcing different designing work from logos to product packaging to the freelancers. The companies hold a contest instead of hiring a designer to create a logo for their brand. A business picks the best design from all the design submissions and awards money to the winning designer. This helps the company to reduce its cost. One of the great examples of these types of outsourcing models is 99Designs.
Crowd Creativity
When you use crowdsourcing for media content, it is crowd creativity. Businesses usually use it to procure audio clips, photographs, short films, etc.
Distributed Knowledge
Crowdsourcing also helps to obtain information and knowledge on a specific topic. Its example would be citizen journalism.
Crowd Voting
Crowd voting helps your favorite contestant win in a reality show. Companies can use votes for making various decisions from the flavor of chips to designing a product.
Micro Tasks
Companies outsource the tasks that are relatively small to the public. These are microtasks and allow for large projects to be split into digestible initiatives. Often they don’t require any particular skills by those completing the tasks. Premise is a great example of how crowdsourcing can be utilized to collect data.
Where Can You Apply Crowdsourcing?
Crowdsourcing can involve all types of business and social interactions. This process changes the way you hire, work, research, market and create a product. Crowdsourcing is also an amazing way to empower citizens, encourage them to stand up for their rights, and make them feel they have a voice.
In health care and science, it is helping in problem-solving and accelerating innovation. Not to mention, crowdfunding is challenging traditional banking methods and investing processes, and it has the potential to revolutionize this sector. Businesses across different fields can apply the crowdsourcing model in various areas and ways to:
- Accelerate Innovation
- Reinvent Business Models
- Share Ideas
- Engage Citizens or Consumers
- Co-Create
- Save Cost
- Drive Sales
- Increase Efficiency
- Reinvent Work Models
- Reinvent Financial Models
- Conduct Research
- Monitor and Prevent Risk
You can apply crowdsourcing to everything that needs a collaborative or crowd-centric approach. But the following are some sectors where it has huge potential:
- Enterprise
- Government
- Education
- Entrepreneurship
- IT
- Finance
- Science & Health
- Social Enterprise &Nonprofit
- Global Development
- Marketing & Sales
Bottom Line
Crowdsourcing is a new way to make a greater impact on the market in your respective field. It helps you achieve your goals with a cost-effective approach. Thanks to the internet, you can connect to as many people as possible to apply this 21st-century approach and mindset.
Interested in learning more about how Premise can help you with your next project? Email us at [email protected].