What's next for crowdsourcing?
In my last post in the crowdsourcing series several experts remarked on the continued growth of crowdsourcing. So, for this round the question is:
What's the next step in the evolution of crowdsourcing?
I think what makes any burgeoning concept interesting is where it goes once some of the basics have been covered. Whether platforms like YouTube or Twitter or concepts like product integration, no idea can stick around long without evolving. So, where are the places that crowdsourcing will go in the future?
Aaron Bateman: "My guess is there'll be a thinning out as some of the initial frontrunners either fade from view or carve out ever wider spheres of influence. Much like the regular agency rat-race I guess. One interesting possibility might see larger outfits taking over the networks of smaller competitors. Consolidation in other words." This is an interesting, and logical, extrapolation. But I don't know if, say Victors & Spoils, would be interested in owning Guided or Napkins Labs (read why Napkins Labs Will Find Crowdsourcing Success For Creatives And Clients). I think each of the different crowdsourcing agencies has enough of a different approach that a direct acquisition may not make sense.
Hank Leber: "Curation has got to get more efficient and effective. The onus is not only on those running the crowdsourcing businesses, but also on the crowd itself - to get motivated, learn how to be most effective in this new space, and to make the system work for them. The problem is part awareness, and part confidence. People need to see more projects working, which will make them more amenable to playing a hand or two in the system. More individuals get involved and more people talk about the projects - awareness goes up. It´s a standard advertising/branding problem and it´ll work itself out."
As always, I think it's important to showcase a variety of viewpoints and Nate Sullivan falls firmly in the anti-crowdsource camp: "Every generation has had its marketing scams, from MLMs of the 80s and 90s to crowdsourcing today. One topic that the recession recently exposed and provided a brief news flash in 2010, was the unpaid internship. The unpaid internship is the closest thing to crowdsourced design that existed prior to Web 2.0. Inc reported in April 2010 that the Labor Department was cracking down on unpaid internships. There are guidelines and court decisions that guide the definition of unpaid labor. Crowdsourcing skirts this by having the appearance of a contest, but in reality, it's contracted labor. If crowdsourcing as a labor substituting practice continues, it faces the same possibility of legal scrutiny and for good reason. You can't operate a business on the backs of uncompensated labor and get away with it for long. It's sort of like running a lottery and advertising it as an investment vehicle." I often find myself thinking Nate's got it wrong, but I also have a sneaking suspicion that in the long run he's going to be proven right on a lot of this.
Sam Ford: I think that we are increasingly seeing the crowdsourcing mentality applied not so much to the creation of content but to the circulation of content. If companies are ultimately producing media texts, marketing, and other media for audiences to spread in a social space, it makes sense that we should be remodeling how those companies foster dialogue and put those messages in motion with communities in a meaningful way. At the heart of such work is a core commitment to listening, both in understanding what audiences want in creating content but in developing relationships that invite audiences to use media content for their own purposes in innovative ways that may or may not bring value back to the content creator but in a way that respects the labor and interests of the audience member." An interesting interpretation, and one that also puts a premium on brands making sure 'the crowd' feels their efforts are valued. If people feel they are doing the work for the brand and not receiving anything in return they will eventually abandon the brand.
We'll end the discussion with Tracy Shea: "We will see pockets of communities crop up and begin to operate much like a newsroom, with "silos" of information, curated somewhat collectively, but functioning as a whole." This is an interesting idea. A newsroom of crowdsourced content from like-minded people around a certain topic would be powerful, especially if harnessed (supported?) by a brand.