Every year, the volume of words in the Russian language increases on average by 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 my 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 uttered by the first persons of the country, teachers in 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 comes from the English language. Translated 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. Attracting the resources of the crowd, any public initiative has a better chance of success. Proven fact: if a person feels personal participation in any common cause, he treats the product of joint work more responsibly, and he retains this model of behavior for other cases.
Promotion of crowdsourcing
Such a popular element of social culture as crowdsourcing is also actively taking root in Russia. Examples of Russian experience 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 a given moment in time or are still under development. Public-private partnership in the Russian Federation allows attracting private investment, implementing 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 applied not only in the field of public-private relations. Crowdsourcing technology is familiar to managers in various areas of human life: in education, and in science, and in public administration. There are millions of examples of crowdsourcing in the modern world, this practice is widely used abroad, and today it is becoming increasingly popular in Russia. Crowdsourcing is not always the attraction of material resources.
Thanks to crowdsourcing, many Russian companies got a second life, for example, collecting public opinion helped to choose logos for rebranding of leading business organizations. Another popular case of technology such as crowdsourcing is Sberbank of Russia. This bank often attracts public opinion to discuss decisions relevant to the company. Sberbank accumulates the ideas of its customers, offers a public discussion of new projects. Forces of the public mind, the company released a mobile application, which today is used by more than half of all owners of bank cards and accounts.
Capital experience
What crowdsourcing knows firsthand Moscow. Thanks to the Moscow crowdsourcing portal, by May 2017, 13 projects had already been completed. Among them: environmental projects, improving transport, the transformation of children's and adult clinics, 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, contact zoos and in public places. Crowdsourcing tools allowed Muscovites to come to important decisions. Firstly, the term “wild animal” was defined, and secondly, responsibilities for the care, maintenance and behavior of the three listed locations for owners of wild animals were identified.
Varieties of crowdsourcing
What is crowdsourcing and how does it happen will help determine the following classification:
- Crowdsourcing design: allows you to select logos and designs for products. It 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 that combines minimalist design and the cosiness of a creative space.
- Microtasking is a crowdsourcing tool that allows you to instruct an unlimited number of people to help in a particular business for free or for a fee. Very often this technology is called freelance, but do not confuse these two concepts, as freelance most often has one performer, and microtasking can have more than a thousand.
First experience: crowdsourcing and design
Design crowdsourcing in management was first applied 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 structural features of the Australian economy at the beginning of the twentieth century, influenced the choice of the proposed flag designs. 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 emphasis on Australia's dependence on the UK). It is also known that crowdsourcing tools were resorted to when designing the Sydney Opera House.
The sphere of education
Crowdsourcing in education is used in educational institutions and by people who are engaged in self-education. So, for example, those who want to learn a foreign language use the crowdsourcing platform DuoLingo, on which you can practice pronunciation of English words, learn grammar rules in a playful way. Educational sites 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 sites and thereby contribute to improving the quality of education and the general level of literacy of citizens.
The benefits of crowdsourcing
Having thoroughly understood what crowdsourcing is, one can distinguish 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 side allows you to see the benefits in small details. Secondly, on a voluntary basis completely brilliant ideas can be born that can make the life of a huge number of people more comfortable. Crowdsourcing allows government agencies to draw attention to significant issues in the lives of citizens. The more government initiatives, the greater the chance that they will be successfully improved as they are implemented.
Another advantage is the low cost of work. 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, he lies in wait only for those who use unverified platforms, invests 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 site.
Use popular sites with experience in implementing similar projects. If you are an executor 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 voluntary basis. In conditions when a large number of people work together, it can be difficult to keep any confidential information within the organization. It is impossible to ensure that all participants in the process do not divulge his ideas, important insider information. That is why most projects have open access documentation for users and all project statistics are available even to those who do not take part in it.
Crowdsourcing: interesting cases
One of the most popular crowdsourcing events in Russia is the process of selecting the symbols of the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. Artists, designers and animators proposed several interesting images that were supposed to compete for the titles of the mascots of the Olympic Games. Ultimately, three heroes won: Snow Leopard, Little Hare and Polar Bear.
Well-known Russian platforms for finding sports coaches, tutors, music teachers and educators are another socially important crowdsourcing project. Sometimes this technology arises completely spontaneously. So, users of "Yandex-cards" came up with to notify all car owners about the situation on the country's roads.
Foreign experience
Not so long ago, an interactive public platform was created in the UK that allowed users to instantly report acts of vandalism on the streets of the city, as well as report problems with local infrastructure, open sewer manholes.
Wikipedia is another online 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 changes.
The famous furniture company from the Netherlands, IKEA, offers an annual crowdsourcing project for children. Kids can come up with a unique design for a soft toy and the best projects will be implemented as real products from IKEA.
Non-profit crowdsourcing in the Russian Federation
One of the best examples of non-profit crowdsourcing in Russia is the Internet portal of public expertise, where people can offer their own initiative to improve the quality of life in our country, as well as take part in surveys and 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 initiatives. These initiatives, in turn, are passed on to professionals in various industries, which brings the project into action.