What is crowdsourcing in simple terms?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Every year the volume of words in the Russian language increases by an average of a thousand new words. Recently, there has been a tendency to borrow foreign words, which often remain special, incomprehensible to most people. So, each of us at least once in his life heard the word "crowdsourcing". What is it in simple words - you will learn in this article. This word sounds from TV screens, on the radio, of course, in the press. This word is pronounced by the first persons of the country, teachers at schools, teachers at universities, which is why many young people probably know its meaning. So what is crowdsourcing?

Etymology of the word

Crowdsourcing is a word that came from the English language. In translation, crowd means "crowd", sourcing - "search for resources". Thus, this word refers to the process of collecting any resources by the forces of a large mass of people. By attracting the resources of the crowd, any public undertaking has a better chance of success. Provenfact: if a person feels personally involved in any common cause, he treats the product of joint labor more responsibly, retains this model of behavior for other cases as well.

Promotion of crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing, a popular element of public culture abroad, is also actively taking root in Russia. Examples of Russian experience in using this technology can be found on the website of public-private partnership (PPP) projects. The site contains a database of projects that have been created, are being created at the moment or are still under development. Public-private partnership in the Russian Federation makes it possible to attract private investment, to implement the initiatives of citizens, entrepreneurs (individuals and legal entities). More than a thousand projects were implemented in 2016. So, a popular example of crowdsourcing is PPP in St. Petersburg. This is the construction of the Western High-Speed Diameter - a toll road created to unload roads in the city.

Crowdsourcing: collective intelligence as a tool for business development

Crowdsourcing can be used not only in the sphere of public-private relations. Crowdsourcing technology is familiar to managers in various spheres of human life: in education, science, and public administration. There are millions of examples of crowdsourcing in the modern world, this practice is widely used abroad, and today it is becoming more and more popular in Russia. Crowdsourcing is not always attractionmaterial resources.

Thanks to crowdsourcing, many Russian companies have received a second life, for example, the collection of public opinion helped to choose logos for the rebranding of leading business organizations. Another popular case of such technology as crowdsourcing is Sberbank of Russia. This bank often attracts public opinion to discuss decisions relevant to the company. Sberbank accumulates ideas from its clients and offers public discussion of new projects. Using the forces of public mind, the company released a mobile application, which today is used by more than half of all bank card and account holders.

Experience the capital

Moscow knows firsthand what crowdsourcing is. Thanks to the Moscow crowdsourcing portal, by May 2017, 13 projects had already been implemented. Among them: projects on ecology, improvement of transport, transformation of children's and adult polyclinics, as well as changes in the work of administrative Internet portals.

One of the projects that deserves special attention was organized by Muscovites on the issue of keeping wild animals in the city: in apartment buildings, petting zoos and in public places. Crowdsourcing tools have allowed Muscovites to make important decisions. Firstly, the term "wild animal" was defined, and secondly, the duties of care, maintenance and behavior in the three listed locations for owners of wild animals were named.

Varieties of crowdsourcing

What is crowdsourcing and how it happens, the following classification will help to determine:

• Design Crowdsourcing: allows you to select logos and designs for products. Can also be used in public administration.
• Crowdfunding: a way to invest in attractive but little-known projects. For example, with the help of crowdfunding in Germany, a stunning open-air library was recently built, combining minimalist design and the comfort of a creative space.
• Microtasking is a crowdsourcing tool that allows you to entrust an unlimited number of people with help in a particular case for free or for a fee. Very often this technology is called freelancing, but you should not confuse these two concepts, since freelancing usually has one performer, while microtasking can have more than a thousand.

First experience: crowdsourcing and design

Crowdsourcing design in management was first used in Australia in 1901, when the authorities of the newly created federation decided to create their own state symbol - the flag. On a competitive basis, the best of the proposed ones was selected. Foreign citizens also took part in the voting. Geographical isolation, as well as the structural features of Australia's economy in the early twentieth century, influenced the choice of proposed designs for the flag. The meritocracy and egalitarianism of that era also influenced the choice. That is why the flag of Australia was actively criticized already at the end of the twentieth century (due to the underliningAustralia's dependence on Great Britain). It is also known that crowdsourcing tools were used to create the design of the Sydney Opera House.

Education

Crowdsourcing in education is used in educational institutions and by people who are engaged in self-education. For example, those who want to learn a foreign language use the DuoLingo crowdsourcing platform, where they can practice pronunciation of English words and learn grammar rules in a playful way. Educational platforms such as Coursera or Universarium also allow you to study interesting programs (from cooking to microeconomics) while at home. Universities, companies and individuals post videos on these online platforms and thereby contribute to improving the quality of education and the general level of literacy of citizens.

Crowdsourcing benefits

Having understood in detail what crowdsourcing is, we can highlight both the advantages and disadvantages of this technology. Firstly, crowdsourcing allows you to reduce the company's internal costs. Often a fresh look from the outside allows you to see the benefits in small details. Secondly, absolutely brilliant ideas can be born on a voluntary basis that can make the life of a huge number of people more comfortable. Crowdsourcing allows you to draw the attention of government agencies to significant issues in the lives of citizens. The more government initiatives, the more likely they are to improve successfullyas implementation progresses.

Another advantage is the low labor cost. Many people are willing to work for free, creating something necessary. Working for an idea is the core principle of crowdsourcing.

Disadvantages of this method

The risk of running into scammers is perhaps the main disadvantage of crowdsourcing. However, it lies in wait only for those who use untested platforms, invest in startups on little-known sites. The main advice for those who are going to invest in a good idea can only be a warning about choosing a crowdsourcing platform.

Use popular sites with experience in implementing similar projects. If you are a performer in a crowdsourcing project, then do not count on a large reward. Very often, customers offer small amounts of payment or ask for free help on a volunteer basis. In an environment where a large number of people work together, it can be quite difficult to keep any confidential information inside the organization. It is impossible to ensure that all participants in the process do not disclose his ideas, important insider information. That is why most projects have documentation in the public domain for users and all project statistics are available even to those who do not participate in it.

Crowdsourcing: interesting cases

One of the most popular crowdsourcing actions in Russia is the process of choosing the symbols of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. Artists, designers and animators proposed several interesting images that were supposed tocompete for the title of mascots of the Olympic Games. In the end, three heroes won: Snow Leopard, Hare and Polar Bear.

Famous Russian platforms for finding sports coaches, tutors, music teachers and educators - another socially important crowdsourcing project. Sometimes this technology arises quite spontaneously. So, users of "Yandex-maps" came up with an idea to notify all car owners about the situation on the country's roads.

Foreign experience

Recently, an interactive public platform was created in the UK, which allowed users to instantly report acts of vandalism on the streets of the city, also report problems with local infrastructure, open sewer manholes.

"Wikipedia" is another Internet project that has changed this world for the better. Of course, this source of information is not as reliable as we would like, because any user can make their own edits.

The well-known furniture company from the Netherlands IKEA offers an annual crowdsourcing project for children. Toddlers can come up with a unique design for a soft toy and the best designs will be realized as real products from IKEA.

Non-commercial crowdsourcing in Russia

One of the best examples of non-commercial crowdsourcing in Russia is the Internet portal of folk expertise, where people can offer their own initiative to improve the quality of life in our country,as well as take part in polls, vote for the initiative of other citizens. The same portal has its own rating of "People's Experts". People with this title earn the most votes for their proposed initiatives. These initiatives are in turn passed on to professionals in various industries, which put the project into action.