Is Crowdsourcing the new business model?

Crowdsourcing is a mesh of two words, crowds and outsourcing. It means engaging a “crowd” for a common goal which often deals with innovation, problem solving or efficiency. Behind the term is the power of new technologies, social media and web 2.0. Crowdsourcing is a product of virtual connectivity which has made it easier for individuals to collectively contribute towards ideas, time, expertise, project, cause or funds.

Wikipedia is the perfect example of crowdsourcing

Wikipedia created an online encyclopedia where the crowd had the ability to create the information on their own. It is one of the most comprehensive encyclopedias ever. By doing this, not only did Wikipedia cut down its cost on hiring writers and editors but it also managed to create content that was far superiors than most of the content on the internet. Crowdsourcing is beneficial in the sense that large crowds give better ideas or chip in more skills or mainly participate.

Crowdsourcing is beneficial for enterprises, startups, social business and almost every innovative idea that needs to launch into practicality. Not only this but it helps in generating new business ideas, solutions to problems, funding new products, mapping and identifying potholes in existing systems. The concept of crowdsourcing has greatly changed the dynamics of modern day business.

The collective behavior has given rise to an emergent behavior.

The premise of this behavior is network connectivity through offline and online modes. People then organize across a said network to form higher level of order giving birth to a superior end product.

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2.4 billion people use the internet everyday and they are not just watching memes or sharing pictures of cats on the internet. People collectively involve themselves in ideas or projects that reverberate across the globe. Currently, crowdsource system is for specific functions. Kickstarter for example is used for crowdfunding. TaskRabbit is a platform for paid micro tasks and Crowdmap is an awesome collective geographical mapping system which is helpful when you’re traveling in foreign land.

Freelancing and Crowdsourcing go hand in hand

It reduces cost, produces more quality work and can be done from the comfort of your home. Crowdsourcing is excellent for businesses that are open to innovation and improvement. Many big tech firms have gone open source as well. Google for example has made Android open source. Many developers can contribute to the software and even develop more from it.

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The future of the Crowdsource industry is changing rapidly. It is taking over the traditional business practice and involving consumers in the creative and marketing process. It is a form of freelancing that is quickly paving way for new digital and social companies to thrive in a void left by the traditional business practices. The system is slowly but gradually reinventing the financial and work models by focusing on co-creation and accelerated innovation. Crowdsourcing is definitely changing the dynamics of getting funding from the people.

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