Crowdsourcing: use it wisely

Two suggestions for policy intiatives on America Speak Out, a Republican crowdsourcing initiative, exemplify the problem with crowdsourcing. The idea of America Speak Out is for people to suggest policy ideas and then others vote for the most popular one.

The fourth most popular idea for improving national security was:

“We need to employ some of those invincible black knights from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

Another popular suggestion:

“All Americans should bathe in nuclear waste. This has been shown to be an effective tactic in the past of transforming the human body into something more powerful and superhuman. With a nation of powerful mutants, not only would we prevent ourselves from being invaded, we would have a wildly powerful offense with millions able to fly, shoot lasers from their eyes and take bullets.”

The thing is, people without a vested interest in the outcome generally do not have the same passion for the cause. It’s why we pay people to work.

Added to that, you’ve got the age-old problem of suggestion schemes – who sorts out all the bumph? And how much time and energy goes into sorting through all the suggestions compared to what would have been required to come up with a good idea internally? How do you respond to those who took the time to make a suggestion? How do you make the scheme transparent?

There are some bona fide business reasons for using crowdsourcing. Just look at iStockphoto – the royalty free photography site where photographers submit photos for others to buy. It’s one of the great successes of the internet age. Web usability testing has also shown success in crowdsourcing. The reason these instances of crowdsourcing work is because there is something in it for those participating. The iStockers submit their photos in the hope that somebody will buy them. The web usability testers get better websites that are easier to use.

Crowdsourcing does have its place, but don’t expect it to replace the job of a person who has a vested interest in getting a good outcome.

I guess the lesson for me is this: never rely on the magnanimity of the crowd in order to simply save money. If you’re going to do it, do it for a reason that involves the crowd.

Read more:

MarketingVOX, Is Crowdsourcing Ready for Prime Time? In Some Cases, Yes, 1 June 2010

brandchannel, Crowdsourcing Gains Momentum, 14 June 2010

3commentsComment on this article