Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing refers to the outsourcing of traditional internal tasks to a group of volunteer users, for example via the Internet. This designation is based on the concept of outsourcing, outsourcing business functions and structures to third-party companies.

Term

Crowdsourcing is one of the American journalist Jeff Howe (Wired Magazine) embossed neologism. For the first time the concept was articulated in the written by Howe and published in 2006 article " The Rise of Crowdsourcing ". Definition by Nicole Martin, Stefan Lessmann and Stefan Voß: " Crowdsourcing is an interactive form of service delivery which is organized collaborative or competitive, and a large number extrinsically or intrinsically motivated actors different level of knowledge involves using modern information and communication systems based on the Web 2.0. performance object are products or services different degree of innovation, which are developed through the network of the Participation reactive due to external impulses, or proactively by automatically identifying need gaps or opportunities. "

In addition, the term crowdsourcing also referred to the collection of ideas and feedback from outside and forecasts. Special forms of this crowdsourcing are the Crowd testing, in which the mass of Internet users, for example, apps or web application testing, gives her feedback on the detected error, improving the usability, as well as crowdfunding, in which from a business perspective but not the ideas or the work performance of the mass of the Internet users are targeted, but these are to be recovered as investors. Crowdsourcing is also used for future assessments, in the form of election predictions, prediction markets, or even as a tool for internal forecasts.

A first social scientific approach to the young phenomenon developed Christian Papsdorf with the following definition:

" Crowdsourcing is the strategy of swapping a usually consideration provided by workforce performance by an organization or individual by means of an open call at a mass of unknown actors, with the gain of Crowdsourcer and / or the crowd Sourcees freely usable and direct economic benefits."

This detailed definition aims to clearly distinguish similar phenomena such as open source, mass customization, or the thesis of the worker customers of crowdsourcing.

In addition, crowdsourcing is discussed as an opportunity to balance the global wealth gap.

Strategic use

The voluntary Crowd Sourcees are referred to within the process as prosumers. Often they are asked by the company to participate in specific tasks and support this example, within the innovation or production processes. Furthermore, they are involved concerning the companies to solve problems in research and development processes. To make production with the help of prosumers involves doing several advantages for businesses. Your customers are directly involved in the production process, which the company can reduce the risk of " Gone - Produce " to their wishes. Furthermore, they can gain many proposals, for example, future innovations, for the design or for prognosis assessments.

Thus Crowdsourcing is a modern form of division of labor, which is one of the basic principles of economics for a long time. Was made possible and this novel method. Technological progress and the advent of the Internet, particularly the Web 2.0 Companies use for their own purposes the intelligence of the swarm (see swarm intelligence or wisdom of crowds ) and benefit from the easy accessibility of the users. The standing behind the crowdsourcing approach is so that a heterogeneous mass of individual key people can achieve the quality of expert decisions, which has already proven in practice. Another advantage for companies is thus an economic nature, they can save costs for experts, especially since studies have shown that spawned from participants products with the suggestions of the professionals are qualitatively similar. Advantageous for the members of the crowd in return is the prospect of being able to influence the product according to their own ideas and wishes in its development. Leaving aside critical voices, as benefit as a result of business as well as Related to the crowd of the product-specific participation via the Internet. The special feature of crowdsourcing lies in the extension of the existing division of labor models by a factor of motivation.

In performance-based rewards using gamification are cash awards, small monetary rewards, perks, or exclusive information common (Paid crowdsourcing ). However there are many crowdsourcing projects without financial incentives. These motivate the volunteers by professional advantages, the desire to learn new skills, share knowledge with others and to achieve common goals. In all projects, the perception of social recognition, a meaningful and creative work, fun to the common action and a sense of community for the Participation is motivating.

Examples

Another form can be found in the area of ​​software testing: the so-called Crowd Testing uses the mass and variety of testers and test environments through a virtual testing community that is entrusted as required by the software manufacturer - usually via a mediating provider. Crowd Testing increasingly use mainly manufacturer of smartphone applications (known as apps ) and operators of large online shops and portals.

Prerequisite

The Internet represents the base of interactivity of a geographically distributed group of people working on a joint project.

Similar concepts

Interactive value creation

Crowdsourcing and Interactive value creation are in principle very close but should not be confused with each other, since interactive value creation rather refers to the business side and neglected self-organized associations, but they are essential for the crowdsourcing. Interactive value creation has its origin common in consumer dissatisfaction and deals with developing a better solution.

Open Innovation

Open innovation emphasizes the open innovation process, which is also central to the crowdsourcing. This means that external employees are involved ( the innovation process ) in a hitherto internal value creation process. As with crowdsourcing is also what open innovation a matter of overcoming the corporate limits. The difference to crowdsourcing is that only innovations are to be produced.

Open Source

Open source usually refers to software that may be used and further developed under an appropriately defined license. Here, similarly Crowdsourcing, also living away from each other people will be involved in a development process. So open source represents a possible form of crowdsourcing

Social Forecasting

Social Forecasting is a business management method to make predictions about future events from the collective knowledge to get into virtual prediction markets a group. Social Forecasting combined aware crowdsourcing with an incentive mechanism. Companies use Social Forecasting projections and analyzes and other values ​​its employees to obtain for forward-looking questions.