Contributed By Julia Styles

Crowdsourcing has been the buzzword of the summer. With the continued growth of Web 2.0, crowdsourcing has become a viable method of obtaining information and skills from the masses.

What is crowdsourcing?
According to wikipedia, “Crowdsourcing is a neologism for the act of taking a job traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form of an open call.”

It is essentially outsourcing to customers and other average people, usually via the web or an organization.

Who uses crowdsourcing?
Famous users of crowdsourcing include YouTube, Threadless, Lego, iStockphoto, Digg, and Procter and Gamble.

As discussed in Connect + Develop, P&G employs more than 9000 scientists and researchers in corporate R&D and still has many problems they cannot solve, so they go to the crowds. P&G posts challenges on InnoCentive, offering large cash rewards to more than 90,000 “solvers” who make up this network of backyard scientists, according to Open Innovators. P&G also works with organizations that provide crowdsourcing or outside innovation, including NineSigma, YourEncore, Yet2, and BrainReactions.

BrainReactions and crowdsourcing
BrainReactions essentially is organized and controlled crowdsourcing. Companies invite us to participate in their front end of innovation, or idea generation phase. Not only do we provide them with the voice of the customer; we help them develop new products, packaging or marketing messages all under an agreement of confidentiality. This type of outside innovation works very well, because it comes from the customer, and it is less expensive than internal R&D.

Now BrainReactions offers crowdsourcing to anyone through our online social network for brainstorming — BrainReactions.net. Post your challenge in an open brainstorm room and invite friends and users to give ideas. Someone from the crowd might have the perfect idea for you.

Read more about crowdsourcing
The word crowdsourcing was first coined by Jeff Howe in a 2006 article in Wired magazine. Needless to say, Wired journalists have become experts on the topic. To read more on crowdsourcing check out all of these articles from Wired Magazine.

The Rise of Crowdsourcing.
Look who’s Crowdsourcing.
What does Crowdsourcing Really Mean?
Creative Crowdwriting: The Open Book.
Using Crowd Power for R&D.
News the Crowd Can Use.
The Experts at the Periphery.

To learn about specific strategies of crowdsourcing, check out Sami Viitamaki’s FLIRT model.

| Generating Ideas & Ideation Techniques, Innovation Techniques, Open Innovation, Voice of the customer, New Concepts & Ideas, Corporate Innovation, BrainWaves Emagazine | Email Article | Share on Facebook | del.icio.us | digg this

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