We try to ensure that we discuss almost all the terms that can be associated with the internet and the progress that technology has made in the past. One such concept is that of crowdsourcing. It is a new term and not much people know about it exactly, even if they have heard it somewhere. Some people may be a part of it but perhaps they have no idea that they are a part of it.
Crowd-Sourcing
Crowd sourcing, as the name suggests, is a combination of the words crowd and outsourcing. Crowd is a group of people. Out sourcing is basically assigning the tasks to others who are not related directly to the business.
Crowdsourcing is an online activity that is commonly done on the internet. Many companies use this concept to get their work done. For example if a company has a task that is a small one and not a very confidential one they can assign it to people who are not associated with the business.
For example they can give the task to freelancers and also to individuals who want to work part time. All these assignments are done online. If we look back in history we have to admit that the term crowdsourcing existed in the past too. In the olden days when a work related to charity needed to be done the concept of crowdsourcing was used. However, there was a difference. That crowdsourcing was not done using the internet. This is why you will get the crowdsourcing as a word in the dictionary too. In France crowdsourcing was used to solve some problems that were seemingly impossible to get resolved. The people solving these problems were also awarded.
The olden concept of crowdsourcing was more of interacting and brain storming type. In the world of internet, direct interaction is not possible. Today when we say crowdsourcing the concept is basically of a work that can be done on the net. The specifications on how the work has to be done are mentioned by the employer. The person working on it follows the instructions that were given. It is more time saving that the original concept of crowdsourcing as there is very less time spent on communication. In crowdsourcing the task is assigned to a group of people who are also called the crowd.
There are basically two types of crowdsourcing and they are explicit and implicit crowdsourcing.
In explicit crowdsourcing, the users find solution to problems that they are specifically working on.
In implicit crowdsourcing, as the name suggests, one works on a problem that they happen to solve as a result of the main problem they are working on.
It is basically like a side effect. Many companies and organisations use the crowdsourcing as a method to find solutions to various problems in life. The methods of crowdsourcing that they use are crowd funding, creative crowdsourcing, inducement prize contests, microwork and wisdom of the crowd. These are some methods of crowdsourcing to name a few in the list. There may be more methods depending on the requirement of the situation.
You may be wondering about what are the tasks that may require crowdsourcing. Well the answer is not specific. It can be any particular problem that may need the concept of crowdsourcing to resolve. A huge problem like finding alien life to a minor problem like a good place to hang out may need crowdsourcing.
You just name it and you will have a list of problems that will need crowdsourcing. With crowdsourcing there has evolved a new concept of cloud voting. As soon as you login to a site you will see a column asking for a vote. These votes ensure that the opinion of the masses is counted before a product is launched or maybe any other purpose. Many companies depend on crowdsourcing to design a product that maybe liked by people.
Creative crowdsourcing is a type of crowdsourcing that is used in creative field like graphic design, apparel design, etc. This is more to do with creative fields that need specific and detailed knowledge. Crowd funding is mostly used for purpose that has a social cause in mind. By doing crowd funding one can ensure that a certain sum of money is collected from contributions made by a group of people.
In wisdom crowdsourcing, the intelligence and analytical ability of a number of people are taken into consideration to get a complete picture. This idea of collective intelligence can be very useful for the project and the outcome can be very useful too. Microwork is a small task that one is required to do online for which they get paid a small amount. Many people all over the world do these small tasks and get remunerated.
We hope you have got a fair idea of what is crowdsourcing and how it operates by reading this article. We have also touched the various types of crowdsourcing that you may come across in today’s world.
