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Put Crowdsourcing to Work for You

article Distributed Knowledge, Tools

Put Crowdsourcing to Work for You

By
Kim
Boatman
|

Oct
18,
2010

Crowdsourcing
outsources
tasks
traditionally
performed
by
your
staff
or
a
contractor
to
a
community
or
crowd
of
people
through
an
open
call.
Small
businesses
are
finding
they
can
use
crowdsourcing
to
cut
the
costs
of
projects
significantly,
gain
greater
insight
into
public
opinion
about
their
products
and
streamline
their
offerings
to
better
suit
consumer
demand.

When
Heather
Whaling
needed
a
logo
for
her
public
relations
company,
she
turned
to
crowdSPRING,
an
online
marketplace
that
brings
together
buyers
and
sellers
of
creative
services
such
as
graphic
design,
Web
design
and
writing.

"I
paid
$500
for
a
logo
and
stationery
package.
I
know
many
design
agencies
that
charge
at
least
$5,000
for
a
logo,
so
I
feel
like
I
received
a
great
deal,"
says
Whaling,
president
of
Geben
Communication
in
Columbus,
Ohio.
"Plus,
instead
of
receiving
just
a
few
designs
to
choose
from,
working
with
crowdSPRING
gave
me
more
than
a
hundred
options."

Crowdsourcing,
or
outsourcing
tasks
traditionally
performed
by
your
staff
or
a
contractor,
to
a
community
or
crowd
of
people
through
an
open
call,
is
on
the
rise.
Businesses
are
harnessing
the
power
of
the
crowd
through
marketplaces
such
as
crowdSPRING
and
99designs,
through
social
media
such
as
Facebook
and
Twitter
and
through
interactions
with
their
own
customers.
Crowdsourcing
offers
particular
benefits
for
small
and
mid-‐sized
businesses,
which
can
trim
project
costs
significantly,
gain
greater
insight
into
public
opinion
about
their
products,
and
streamline
offerings
to
suit
consumer
demand.

"As
a
manager
for
a
growing
online
retail
store
selling
cell
phones,
I
always
need
to
find
ways
to
cut
costs
for
our
small
business,"
says
Shai
Atanelov,
manager
of
Bigtime
Wireless,
LLC.
"In
the
last
six
months,
we
have
been
able
to
cut
many
expenses
by
outsourcing
or
crowdsourcing
tasks.
One
simple
and
free
method
we
use
is
requesting
feedback
from
customers
and
visitors
to
our
site,
as
well
as
from
people
we
have
networked
with."

Working
with
the
crowd

Crowd
marketplaces
offer
businesses
with
limited
resources
the
ability
to
tap
into
a
rich
resource
of
creativity.
For
instance,
the
average
crowdSPRING
project
receives
more
than
110
responses.
The
buyer
has
ample
choice,
sets
a
cost
that
won't
go
over
budget,
enjoys
ongoing
feedback
and
revision
and
retains
intellectual
property
rights
when
the
transaction
is
concluded.

Companies
such
as
crowdSPRING
charge
a
nominal
listing
fee
and
a
percentage
of
the
project
cost,
and
small
businesses
are
increasingly
relying
on
the
professional
designers
in
these
marketplaces.
More
than
11,000
small
businesses
have
posted
projects
since
crowdSPRING
launched
in
May,
2008.
Jason
Aikens,
spokesman
for
99designs,
says
the
company
has
completed
more
than
50,000
graphic
design
projects
and
pays
out
more
than
$600,000
to
its
community
of
80,000
designers
every
30
days.

When
it
comes
to
marketing,
many
businesses
have
a
free
source
of
information
at
their
disposal.
They're
turning
to
their
customers
and
social
media
for
direction.
Pyxl,
a
Knoxville,
Tenn.,
marketing
firm,
used
crowdsourcing
to
choose
its
company
name
through
a
web
site
campaign,
says
Nicole
VanScoten
of
Pyxl.
The
firm,
which
was
expanding
from
a
traditional
advertising
agency
to
a
full-‐service
digitial
marketing
firm,
promoted
the
contest
via
social
media
channels.

Participants
from
every
U.S.
State,
52
countries
and
six
continents
entered
the
contest,
in
just
two
weeks.
A
Pyxl
team
narrowed
the
field
to
its
favorites,
then
allowed
users
to
vote.
The
company
awarded
an
Amazon
Kindle2
to
the
winner
and
another
to
a
randomly
selected
entrant.
"This
process
showed
the
rapidly
expanding
social
media
market
taking
hold
all
over
the
world
and
showed
the
power
of
a
well-‐ organized
plan
to
create
an
online
brand
from
the
ground
up,"
says
VanScoten.

Managing
the
crowd
Crowdsourcing
still
takes
careful
management
and
control
on
the
part
of
the
business,
says
Craig
Kleber,
research
director
at
Hall
&
Partners,
a
global
brand
and
communications
research
agency.
"Crowdsourcing
with
some
form
of
channeling
and
control
is
a
way
to
capture
huge
amounts
of
energy,"
he
says.
"Crowds,
real
or
virtual,
are
powerful
things
but
can
quickly
become
problems
if
not
controlled."
Crowdsourcing
experts
and
clients
offer
these
tips
for
taking
control
of
your
crowdsourced
project:

• Manage
task
size.
Define
the
scope
of
the
project
you're
crowdsourcing.
"When
a
task
is
too
large,
it's
a
daunting
feat
for
anyone
in
the
crowd
to
tackle,
and
it
likely
won't
get
the
attention
it
deserves,"
says
Kyle
Hawke,
co-‐ founder
of
Whinot,
a
crowdsourced
business
consulting
company.
"Likewise,
a
task
too
small
is
too
easy,
which
also
stifles
motivation
and
limits
creativity."
• Be
specific.
Explain
the
parameters
of
a
project,
offering
insight
into
your
likes
and
dislikes.
Be
detailed
if
you're
asking
designers
to
create
a
new
logo
or
graphic
design.
Set
expectations
and
standards
if
you
want
quality
and
not
just
quantity,
advises
Kleber.
• Evaluate
crowd
quality.
If
your
Facebook
followers
aren't
particularly
active
or
engaged,
they're
not
likely
to
offer
helpful
input.
Asking
the
general
public
for
help
might
not
generate
useful
responses,
either.
"I
wouldn't
suggest
business
owners
rely
on
the
wisdom
of
the
crowd
if
they
haven't

•

•

•

taken
the
time
to
build
a
trustworthy,
insightful
network,"
says
Whaling.

"The
secret
to
effective
crowdsourcing
is
the
quality
of
the
network."
Don't
manipulate
results.
While
you
should
stay
connected
to
the
project,
offering
prompt
feedback,
you
lose
the
value
of
crowdsourcing
if
you
try
to
direct

the
outcome,
Hawke
notes.
"You
used
this
approach
for
a
reason.
Let
go!
You
might
actually
learn
something,"
he
says.
Ask
what
you
might
be
losing.
Crowdsourcing
is
best
used
for
non-‐strategic
tasks,
Hawke
advises.
In
the
process
of
developing
a
project
in-‐house,
employees
often
gain
insights
and
knowledge
that
can
be
valuable
going
forward.
You
lose
that
experience
if
you
crowdsource.
Treat
the
crowd
with
respect.
Communicate
with
participants,
and
try
to
avoid
exploitation.
Expect
to
pay
a
fair
rate
for
your
project,
not
much
less
than
you
would
pay
a
freelance
professional
for
the
work,
Hawke
says.

If
you
utilize
a
crowdsource
approach,
realize
that
you
remain
the
ultimate
decision-‐ maker,
says
Kim
Lundgren,
a
managing
partner
with
Hall
&
Partners.
You'll
know
best
"whether
or
not
the
idea
fits
with
the
brand
and
its
goals,"
Lundgren
says.

Summary Small businesses are finding they can use crowdsourcing to cut the costs of projects, gain insight and streamline offerings.

Description Crowdsourcing experts and clients offer these tips for taking control of your crowdsourced project:

• Manage task size. Be specific.
• Evaluate crowd quality.
• Don't manipulate results.
• Ask what you might be losing.
• Treat the crowd with respect.

Tags: 99designs, Amazon Kindle2, best practices, Craig Kleber, CrowdSPRING, Facebook, Jason Aikens, Kim Lundgren, Shai Atanelov, twitter

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