What You Should Know about Crowdsourcing
Wednesday 7 April 2010 | Keith J. Hamilton
35 Comments
A lot is being said about crowdsourcing these days. People with different schools of thought and varying opinions, observations and critiques are letting themselves be heard across every platform. With so much information out there (which is often contradictory), it can sometimes be hard to separate fact from fiction and right from wrong. With this post I hope to clear the air and outline crowdsourcing for what it truly is.
Bridging the Gap between Designers and Clients – Many people are of the opinion that crowdsourcing can lead to a communications gap between designers and clients. The responsibility of communication however lies primarily with the client. They create the briefs, design specifications and they are responsible for ensuring all designer queries and questions are promptly answered. This healthy exchange back and forth promotes efficient client-designer interaction and bridges the gap between both the parties.
Get More Done in Less Time – With numerous creative minds chipping in their talents, crowdsourcing gets more accomplished in less time. This is important for companies as time is money. The quickly they can get the desired results and move on, the better. Sometimes getting to a point first is just as important as getting there, period.
Opportunity to Come Up With and Debate the Best Solution – Anyone can come up with a conceptual idea or a solution. Crowdsourcing can be used to tap into varying skill sets in order to come up with multiple solutions for clients. These solutions can then be further debated and scrutinized in order to sort out the best answer to the client’s specifications. It is a good opportunity to put all heads together and come up with an answer.
Crowdsourcing Just Works!
In the end, I suppose the one thing that everyone should know about crowdsourcing is that it works, provided it is applied correctly and smartly. Companies should have a firm understanding of what they want and how they are going to go about getting it. They should also know crowd sourcing along with what it is and isn’t. While that may vary from person to person, one thing that crowdsourcing definitely is, is a great testament to the power of the crowd.
kelly
Thanks Keith, Sharing such great information..i would like to ask one thing does corwdsourcing really helpful??? I mean how we can get benefits form this new technique..
E-commerce Solutions
Nice information about Crowdsourcing…
Keith J. Hamilton
@kelly: Thank you for your feedback.
The greatest advantage or disadvantage of crowdsourcing essentially lies in the fact that, in the design industry for instance, it has been able to demolish the monopoly of few and has created an equal opportunity for everyone in this field. Both designers and businesses can now benefit from it, especially the small startup businesses who wish to have an identity on a modest budget. Do check out my other post on this heated debated on crowdsourcing – “10 Things We Love to Hate about Crowdsourcing“
Greg George
Great Info here
Daniel
Great article with some very important points.
One of the things that we did at Idea Bounty when we were launching the platform was think very carefully about the relationship between creative and client. It was for this reason that we only look for Idea and not finished bits of work in our briefs. We strongly believe that there HAS to be a direct line of communication between client and creative when it comes to producing something like a logo design for example. However when it comes to creative Ideas and the generation of them the game is slightly different. Anyone can come up with a creative idea if they know the what that idea has to achieve and the boundaries in which it has to exist once it is executed there should be no problem. All of the winning Ideas that have been bought off Idea Bounty still needed to be executed and this gave the client the opportunity to work closely with a chosen partner to produce and execute the work.
This leads into one of the other points you made – the wider skill set that you can tap into with crowdsourcing. The Idea Bounty model really does allow anyone to participate as you dont actually have to had in anything other than an Idea which is usually written in a short concise paragraph (possibly supported by rough sketches) which as you can imagine lowers the barrier of entry considerably. We have everyone from engineers and lawyers to design freelancers and professionals working on our briefs – so you really do get to tap into the minds of people who will all be approaching the problem from a slightly different angle, a powerful tool indeed.
Daniel
ideabounty.com
@ideabounty
Janelle
Definitely agree that ‘one thing that everyone should know about crowdsourcing is that it works, provided it is applied correctly and smartly.’
Some examples of crowdsourcing done right are:
Ireland’s YCYC – http://proposals.yourcountryyourcall.com
YTL Communications – http://myprize.my
Adobe Acrobat – http://ideas.acrobat.com
These sites are powered by Brightidea’s WebStorm solution. A highly evolved crowdsourcing solution that when combined with their Switchboard product gives companies the ability to not only gather and manage a large number of ideas but also prioritize and execute on the best ones.
Peter LaMott
Keith, Great article. Your statement, “one thing that everyone should know about crowdsourcing is that it works, provided it is applied correctly and smartly,” is about as dead on as one can get. Anyone who comes to a site like ours (GeniusRocket) and thinks they can throw out some money, not engage with the artists, and still hope to find brilliance is setting themselves up for failure.
If one word should to be used to describe the needed ingredient in a successful crowdsourcing project, it’s RESPECT. That means the client is respectful of the time and energy that artists are putting into their project. And that the creatives are respectful of the needs and opinions of the client.
When a client launches a project on our site we always tell them that the three things required for a successful project are; a fair award, a fair amount of time to for creatives to produce the content, and a high level of communication. The first two are self explanatory, and we have set up minimums to be fair to the artists. Yet the issue of communications is always a struggle. Most clients are business people that may not understand the direction that artists need. Often creatives will ask valid questions of the client, yet if the client isn’t engaged in the discussion board they are missing out on having the community really understand their needs and wants. Anyone who has worked in the creative field know that often it takes a few targeted questions to get to the bottom of what the client is REALLY looking for. Knowing this, we recently brought on a Curation Director (that’s our fancy name of a Creative Director) to help guide clients through the crowdsourcing process. Primarily he helps client convey in the creative brief what they are looking for in ways that are clear to our creative community.
In short, crowdsourcing has already proven itself as an affordable way for brands to source high quality content from undiscovered talent. Now the key is to refine the process with each iteration of the model to better serve both the client and the creative artists.
Matt Johnston
Great post, Keith. I love reading crowdsourcing perspectives from other industries (my company, uTest, is in the c-sourced software testing space).
Crowdsourcing as a genus is a hot topic and increasingly crowded (please pardon the pun). There are a couple of distinctions that I think are helpful in looking at all the various flavors of “crowdsourcing” that are cropping up.
- First, is there monetary compensation (CrowdFlower, mturk) or not (Wikipedia, Digg)?
- Second, is it a single-winner (Elance, 99 Designs) or is it multi-winner (uTest, Trada)?
- Third, is it reputation-driven, meaning that a person’s past work/projects/contributions are attached to their profile for all of time and for all the world to see?
In many crowdsourcing companies that are providing professional services (design, coding, testing, animation, et al), the “secret sauce” is how well the company recruits & engages the right its community, as well as how effective their reputation system and matching algorithms are to get the right projects in front of the right people. Let’s face it — not all designers (or testers or coders or photographers) are created equal.
Ultimately, our customers are trying to get a job done and they want it on-time, on-budget and at the quality that they expect. If you remove the marketing shine and media glitz, crowdsourcing is really no different than outsourcing or insourcing — it is simply a model to get projects completed. And the crowdsourcing companies who win will be those who are focused on consistent execution and successfully matching qualified demand (projects) with qualified supply (professionals). My $.02 anyway.
matt j.
vp of marketing & community
uTest
colourburst
Sometimes crowdsourcing works. Sometimes it doesn’t. it all depends on the site owner – if they follow the rules of basic design and image theft issues…
Some of the sites have very good systems set up to eliminate those “fake” designers who continually steal pre-existing art and try to sell them as their own. (I do realize this happens in more places than these sites). But a good site will have some sort of system to purge the designers who always steal others’ art.
I have seen a couple who condone it. Oh sure they have things set up like “report this image” and then do nothing about it, even go so far as to tell the designer to go ahead and use it… You can’t do this – what happens when the client wants to copyright?? they can’t. It makes your site look very bad….
The sites who are cleaning up the crap are starting to grow rapidly because they have good reputations.
Crowdsourcing does work because the client gets more choices than one direct designer.
BUT they have to be careful – is the art original? Is it print-ready?
Too many designers make web ready art only. When the client tries to print it on other items – it doesn’t work and then they have to pay all over again to have the place recreate it.
So if you are a client looking for a logo, look around – check costs, experience, how well the site is laid out to suit your needs best, what the reputation is (search engines are helpful) and so on. You want a logo that suits your needs but one that works in various forms of print, and one that is original.
There was a magazine article recently about various crowdsourcing sites. One client set out to find a logo. They tried in various sites. One site stood out amongst the rest for providing more professional, original, print-ready logos….
Henry
1000 heads is better than 1…
Angel Mular
I don’t really understand why people support Crowdsourcing…It’s simply Sucks! I have 1 simple question to all the entrepreneurs around the World, what if someone offers 100’s of entrepreneurs to invest in one company and profit will goes to only one of the person among them…No one will be interested to invest in that offer…so why should designers invest their creativity and Time on such a stupid thing…Designers have to wake up as Time is Money do not invest your creativity and time.
Online Degrees
Great post, thanks for sharing, crowd-sourcing is indeed very important for online businesses, being working in online education niche, it is very important for us too, I have found this post real informative and I am sure it will help others too.
Keith J. Hamilton
Thank you all for your feedback.
@Daniel: Indeed, crowdsourcing offers businesses, especially those in the startup stage and on a modest budget, a great option to tap into a vast pool of talent. This way the clients are no longer limited to one inspiration or idea.
@Janelle: True. There are always 2 sides of every story. Crowdsourcing has demolished the monopoly of the few and has managed to create an equal opportunity for everyone.
@Peter LaMott: I agree. As far as the communication (or the lack of it) is concerned, it falls on the clients to make sure that they provide active feedback to the designers so they understand the requirments. Clients must keep a few things in mind to acquire good results with their design contests. With crowdsourcing even the startup companies on limited budget can now afford a brand identity.
Keith J. Hamilton
@Matt Johnston: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. There are too many designers out there who are willing to crucify the whole concept of crowdsourcing without even considering the benefits. Truth be told I think that crowdsourcing tends to threaten the big shots of the design industry and maybe that is why they deal with it so aggressively.
@colorburst: I agree. It falls on the company to make sure that the designs created and sourced on their site are original and not fake or copied. Thank you for your feedback.
@Angel Mular: I don’t think that crowdsourcing is all that bad really. It is certainly not a waste of time or money or efforts. Both, businesses and designers can equally benefit from it. What other options do you think that startup businesses have if they want a brand identity? Crowdsourcing helps provide them with an option that is both affordable and effective. Earlier I did a post specifically on the things we love to hate about crowdsourcing. Perhaps that might help you understand the concept better
forex robot
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
Tatiana
Hi Keith,
Thank you for very interesting article.
I’m inclined to think that crowd-sourcing is a change to standard consulting. Two heads are better than one, and that still more heads will yield even better results. Crowdsourcing is about gathering inspiration from those who are central to every marketing communication: the customers.As you say it should just be applied correctly and smartly!
Another great website is http://world4brains.com , an automated Global Consulting and Innovation Think Tank.
Hundreds of well-credentialed consultants and accomplished innovators from around the world and across all required expertise categories simultaneously collaborate with each other and contribute their best ideas, advice and solutions to your problems. Or give you constructive and honest feedback plus access to the sharpest brainstorming partners. And if need be we’ll find you solutions for fair conflict resolution.
FinalDesign
One main disadvantage can be noticed from this link:
http://www.mycroburst.com/contests/need-unique-furniture-designer-logo?page=8&sort=1
I made the initial ideas, concepts right from the font style, text colors, logo styling and if one may notice it is so evident that one whole bunch of people calling themselves as designers have just blindly followed by designs and just tweaked the logos here and there.
It is even annoying to see that they have just copied the colouing and font even for the tagline..I had kept the word “Furniture” in one color and the words “Beyond Compare” in another color. They copied that too.
My question is even if people like this exist who’s responsibility is it to take care of them?? Should designers like me who have to face such injustice day by day.. let this happen over and over again? It is the responsibility of the site to handle such cases and see to it such things don’t happen. It is essential for both the existence of a site that delivers quality designs and the existence of an original designer and not let both of them perish in the long run due to such people who happily tweak, win and get away with it.
How am I supposed to be motivated and participate again when this like this keep happening and there is no one to monitor or control such things.
I had to send this message across cos I have been facing this so many times and I realized the more I stood patient, they just got the better of me. It’s like a bunch of Hyena’s on the prowl waiting to steal the Lion’s kill.
Cheers!
FD
Stefan
YOU can put the scalpel in the hands of as many wanna-bes as you wish. If its me, IM putting it in the hands of the one MD…
Keith J. Hamilton
@FinalDesign: Yes, that is true. People do ripoff and copy design concepts and that is why we encourage clients and designers to work together through a platform that can handle such issues in case of any design copyright violation. At our end we make sure that if a violation is found, the designs are taken down immediately. These designers are not only warned but they are also penalized and banned to participate in future contests. There are designers (we do not wish to name) who have been banned from the site due to these reasons.
FinalDesign
Yeah Keith some strict and stern actions need to be taken cos I posted this after facing this problem more than once and it sort of got me a bit upset and depressed. And I felt maybe I am not the only one facing this issue and somebody needs to raise a voice against such activities. I presume that any honest and creative designer in any kinda field will agree with me that it is a bit traumatic when you watch someone else getting appreciated and recognized for your hardwork and you can’t do anything about it.
Many thanks for the response. Hoping the future holds the best for the deserving.
Cheers!
FD
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Karleen Furia
Thanks for being courageous enough to talk about this very serious problem that most of us have to confront and are afraid to speak upon.
Anthony
i found your weblog looking out a few totally different matter on yahoo, weird …… in any case, i spent some minutes studying this and some other entries and gonna come back often, i liked it
Dave
Yeah Keith some strict and stern actions need to be taken cos I posted this after facing this problem more than once and it sort of got me a bit upset and depressed. And I felt maybe I am not the only one facing this issue and somebody needs to raise a voice against such activities. I presume that any honest and creative designer in any kinda field will agree with me that it is a bit traumatic when you watch someone else getting appreciated and recognized for your hardwork and you can’t do anything about it.
Many thanks for the response. Hoping the future holds the best for the deserving.
Cheers!
FD
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Logo Design Portfolio
Hi,
I learned about Crowd sourcing today that is totally new for me. Thank for sharing informative note on such topic which are vital to perform better in our life.
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Bella Filippini
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Steph
Interesting article. I, for one, am still on the fence regarding crowdsourcing. It is still a touchy issue for most designers who said that crowdsourcing is a no-no for obtaining a logo design. I have tried crowdsourcing before and I know the risks involved but it comes with the territory. But there are other no-frills logo design websites online such as logobee.com, logodesignstation.com, logoyes.com, etc. which are actually great in getting a professional logo design at a fraction of the price. Seeing that there are no consultation services, the price is significantly lower than that of conventional design firms. For instance, I have tried http://www.logodesignstation.com and the experience was indeed a positive one. I managed to get my business logo design at an affordable price and the turnaround time was great as well. Highly recommended. Although crowdsourcing for logo designs could be a bane for some, many find it to be a viable alternative to get a fast logo on the cheap.