It is sort of funny when you have been participating in a
particular activity for a long period of time, only to find out that there is
an actual name for the activity and a whole field of
study developing and devoted to it. I will discuss how I have already
been using this method long before I knew it had a name at the end of this
entry.
The activity is
called “crowdsourcing.” As I have recently completed some research in this
area, the most simplistic definition is this:
'Crowdsourcing'
is an open call to a variety of sources to gather information, ideas and/or
innovations.
But what does that
mean? To the neophyte, it might sound like a new way to describe a focus group.
And, in fact, it kind of is. The main difference is, in today's high-tech
world, crowdsourcing utilizes the internet, social media and word of mouth.
Let talk about
what crowdsourcing can do and that might help fill out the definition for those
less acquainted with the emerging media and technology that is changing the
business landscape almost daily. Let's pretend I make widgets. They are good,
quality widgets and I have a fairly stable customer base that buys my widgets.
But there is rumor floating in the trade press (online, of course) that my
biggest rival is looking at ways to improve their widget and it will
revolutionize the whole widget industry. What can I do? I call in my own
Research and Development (R&D) team and ask them what improvements could be
made to make the widgets better. They have nothing. So I turn to my Executive
Vice President (EVP) of Strategic Communication (a product of Troy University,
of course) and ask her how she can help.
My EVP suggests
floating the issue out on a variety of social media sites, seeking input from
users about how widgets could be improved. She also suggests finding user
groups that are made of people similar (but not exact) in knowledge
and background to our R&D team and create a challenge -- with a $10,000
prize to the winner -- for workable ideas to improve our standard widget.
Her suggestions
are, in effect, outsourcing the R&D to people who might have a slightly
different view of widgets (production, features, manufacture, etc.) with
a sizable reward for the winning idea as well as outsourcing some
marketing research through user-oriented focus group information gathering
about what the end user would like to see different about widgets in general.
The cost?
Ultimately, it’s just time spent online, connecting and collecting information
from the various groups and then number-crunching (for the research) and verification
of the improvement submissions (at least the R&D people can do something
productive). If there are no submissions that warrant awarding a prize, there
is no prize to award (money saved).
If there is a prize to be awarded, my EVP can use
this unconventional method of product improvement/manufacture as a public
relations tool to position our widget company as not only a leader in widget
development but also a progressive leader in advanced communication technology
to operate smarter and more effectively within our industry.
That is an example
of crowdsourcing. A recent high-profile example of crowdsourcing was the use of
private citizen videos and images collected from people attending the Boston
Marathon earlier this month. The authorities used traditional media as well as
social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to alert private citizens that
the authorities wanted copies of any images or video taken near the
marathon's finish line where the bombs exploded and killed three people and
wounded more than 150 others.
Using those images
and video, the authorities were able to identify two suspects within days of
the bombing and then they used those same media outlets -- traditional and
social -- to distribute images of the suspects in an effort to locate
the alleged bombers. Barely more than 24 hours elapsed from when they
released those images and one bomber had been killed in a crossfire and the
other was in custody.
While the
situations are significantly different, utilizing crowdsourcing
techniques has great potential to change the landscape of almost
every arena: political, law enforcement, manufacturing, marketing, media
and education.
But how have I
been using this leading edge technology and techniques already? I'm glad you asked. In my spare time, I build patio/deck furniture out of recycled wooden
pallets. I had noticed stacks of pallets alongside a
major thoroughfare where I live and thought it was a waste of wood.
I did a little
research online and saw that coffee tables could be made from recycled wooden
pallets. At the time, my family and I had recently moved and my wife wanted a
new coffee table. So I made one for her out of recycled pallets. She was
thrilled and asked if I could make some shelves in the pantry for her, too.
Then a chair for our deck. Then a night table for my son. The list
began to grow and grow.
I knew there was a
business opportunity because except for a little glue and deck screws, I had a
"free" source of materials that could be turned into anything I was
capable of building. But what to build? I floated a question of two among my
friends on Facebook, asking what they would want for their deck or patio. I
also joined a couple online woodworking groups and joined a few ongoing
discussions about using pallet wood to build furniture.
I learned that a
double Adirondack-styled settee, featuring two chairs connected by a little
table was what people seemed most interested in having. I also learned about
the different styles of pallets -- some that are heat-treated in a kiln to
ensure no bugs are living in the wood, and some are sprayed or dipped in
chemicals to do the same thing. As a result, I will only use pallets with the
"HT" stamp to make furniture. And one of my biggest sellers is the
double "Pallirondack" Settee -- I've made four so far.
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