Crowdsourcing engages large groups of people to solve problems, foster innovation, and extract valuable insights, redefining how to leverage the wisdom of the crowd.
The digital era has strengthened the interconnectedness of consumer social media platforms. This helps ‘crowdsourcing’ to develop as an important tool to tap into collective intelligence. This potent tool can enable businesses, institutions, and researchers, among others, to garner a wealth of perspectives and insights from diverse individuals.
Hence, crowdsourcing as a tool helps empower companies to solve problems, foster innovation, and extract valuable insights by engaging large groups of people, redefining how they leverage the wisdom of the crowd.
This tool was such a boon during the pandemic as people sourced available beds, and oxygen cylinders, among others. Crowdfunding could prove indispensable during flood relief drives, and disaster management in critically hit areas, and organisations can no longer ignore its potential.
Let us look into some ways that crowdsourcing fosters innovation:
Product Development
Crowdsourcing is being used to develop new products and services. Companies are using online platforms to solicit ideas from customers and the public. This approach allows businesses to gather many ideas from a diverse group of people, which can lead to more innovative and creative solutions.
When companies restructure their workforce, talent acquisition executives can also use crowdsourcing as an open source to implement alternative staffing models that are growing in scale, sophistication, and importance. A crowdsourced labor pool is a legitimate labor component for organisations.
Market Research
Crowdsourcing is also being used for market research. Companies are using online surveys and focus groups to gather insights from customers about their preferences, needs, and opinions. This approach allows businesses to gather data quickly and cost-effectively, and to gain insights that might not be possible through traditional market research methods. Crowdsourcing is a wonderful tool to aid primary research, especially through digital mediums. It eases the pressure on fieldwork for researchers and increases their reach to otherwise physically inaccessible areas.
Problem Solving
Crowdsourcing is being used to solve complex problems. Companies are using online platforms to solicit ideas and solutions from a large group of people. This approach allows businesses to tap into the collective knowledge of a diverse group of people, which can lead to more effective problem-solving. For example, to identify 2,880 suspects during the riots in 2011, the London Metropolitan Police used a crowdsourcing smartphone application.
Social Impact
Crowdsourcing is also being used for social impact. Non-profit organizations are using online platforms to solicit donations and volunteers. This approach allows organizations to reach a wider audience and to engage with people who might not have been aware of their cause. Go fund ME’s are particularly popular to increase awareness about disasters, obtain funding for local nonprofits, and provide a safety net during emergencies that does not fall under the purview of government assistance.
Let us look into some challenges of crowdsourcing:
One of the biggest challenges is ensuring the quality of data collected. Crowdsourcing can lead to a large amount of data that is difficult to analyze and interpret. With digital mediums like social media platforms, there is a risk of bias in the data collected, mostly because the reach depends on algorithms, which can lead to biased data collection. Crowdsourcing does not account for factors like certain groups of people who are more likely to participate than others.
In conclusion, crowdsourcing is a powerful tool that allows businesses to tap into the collective knowledge of a large group of people. It is being used for product development, market research, problem-solving, and social impact. While there are challenges associated with crowdsourcing, it has the potential to lead to more innovative and effective solutions.
