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Archived in If you haven’t heard, the impact crowds can have on the news, and society in general, is a hot topic at the moment. Recent examples include the use of Twitter in the Iranian elections and the Guardian newspaper inviting its readers to audit MPs’ expenses.
But is all the hype around crowdsourcing just an excuse for laziness on the part of those who present that content as their own ‘work’’? After all, the concept has been tarnished by being linked to cheap labour and ways for companies to cut costs by outsourcing to the lowest bidder.
As with everything, it all depends on context.
One of the more controversial current examples is Antony Gormley’s art project in Trafalgar Square, where 240 members of the public have the chance to stand on the Square’s famous plinth for one hour each over the course of 100 days.
Should he take all the credit for his ‘crowd’s’ ideas about what they will do once they’re on the plinth – such as the guy who stood there dressed as a poo?
Is Gormley an artistic genius or a lazy sod?
I’m a little out of my comfort zone when it comes to commenting on modern art, but I do know good online crowdsourcing when I see it.
You only have to consider the high quality of some open source software, to realise how effective mass collaboration on the web can be. Linux’s creator Linus Torvalds, can now only be responsible for 2% of its code, whilst Wikipedia and Wordpress wouldn’t be the globally popular services they are today without the input of thousands.
Is crowdsourcing the future of how brands evolve?
Crowdsourcing is now starting to impact branding decisions and product development. Major brands, such as P&G, Starbucks and Dell are now all using social networking tools to help engage customers and get feedback on what people want their products to do.
Some even think that crowdsourcing could dictate how brands and products evolve in the future, now that people are having more input into how decisions are made. Are such predictions correct?
Well, these eight examples of crowdsourcing should give you some indication of the potential crowdsourcing offers:
8 Examples or Crowdsourcing
1. Unilever – Why pay millions to an ad agency, when you can plug into the creativity of your customers? This leading consumer product brand is offering prizes of up to $60,000 to whoever can create the best commercial for Axe’s Hair Crisis.
2. Threadless – An excellent example of how a community can build a brand, Threadless relies on its members to submit T-shirt designs which are then voted on before cash prizes are dished out. After all, who knows better what T-shirts people want than those who’ll be wearing them?
3. We Are Hunted – Ever wondered what’s the most popular song on the web? Well, this website ranks the most popular music on blogs and social networks – certain to be popular with ageing commercial record execs, wanting to know what the kids are listening to.
4. James Patterson’s ‘Airborne’ – These days, with blogs and witty Facebook updates, everyone’s a writer. So it seems apt that earlier this year the world’s first ‘chain thriller’ was born. James Patterson gave 28 competition winners the chance to write a chapter before reaching in to pull all the strings together at the end.
5. Galaxy Zoo – When you’ve got a quarter of a million galaxies to classify, you’re looking at a lot of overtime for an army of temps. Thankfully, so far 200,000 eager stargazers have helped to complete an otherwise impossible task.
6. Brand Tags – Finding out what people really think of your logo can be scary. Has the millions spent on its design and marketing paid off? One way to find out is to ask your customers what they think on this logo tagging website.
7. Oxfam poster boys (and girls) – How can you inspire others to fight poverty? Well, this was the question Oxfam faced in designing new billboard posters. Who better to ask than your loyal members, by requesting suggestions on the Oxfam website.
8. The Game Cartel – With some video games now costing almost as much as Christiano Ronaldo, getting enough funds together can be tricky. So, The Game Cartel, is aiming to make history by offering 100,000 gamers the chance to choose how they’d like their game designed in exchange for $50. They estimate that the game should cost $3m to make, leaving them with a nice $2m profit (if their plan works of course).
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.