Chapter 11 Managing Knowledge and Collaboration

Chapter 11 Managing Knowledge and Collaboration
Case 2: Idea Scale Crowdsourcing: Where Ideas Come to Life

Assignment Drop Box (Week 2)
1. How would you define crowdsourcing?
Crowdsourcing is the method of receiving work or funding, typically online, from a crowd of individuals. The attitude of crowdsourcing is that many heads are better than one when it comes to ideas. By soliciting a large crowd of people for ideas, assistances, or chipping in, the value of content and ideas will be greater.
2. Why does crowdsourcing require a large, "undefined community" to work? Why not a small, defined community of passionate people who you know and have worked with before or with whom you are already friends (think Facebook communities which are smaller, and defined)?
Crowdsourcing require a large, undefined community because the more people involved with ideas the better to achieve the goal. The contributors of these communities are generally from mixed backgrounds and make decisions independent from one and another. Defined communities of passionate people who work together or are friends don’t fit the Crowdsourcing criteria. This group knows too much about each other and may most likely have similar experiences like work and outside interests. This group may talk about it, discuss the ‘issue’ and most likely sway each other’s decision. Usually outsourcing goes to an undefined large crowd rather than employees of the business. The idea comes from within the group of consumers.
Wisdom of the crowd is another type of crowdsourcing that collects large amounts of information and aggregates it to gain a complete and accurate picture of a topic, based on the idea that a group of people is often more intelligent than an individual. This idea of collective intelligence proves particularly effective on the web because people can contribute in real-time within the same forums from very diverse backgrounds.

3. Can you think of other examples of crowdsourcing besides photography? Is photography a good example? What kinds of products or services might not lend themselves to crowdsourcing?
4. What is the impact of crowdsourcing on business? Can a "crowdsourced" business be profitable? Is iStockphoto.com profitable?
5. Why does the Idea Scale video criticize online surveys? What's wrong with online surveys? How does Idea Scale do any better?
6. Idea Scale claims to produce "actionable" ideas when compared to traditional market feedback mechanisms like online surveys, focus groups, and reviews of customer comments on Web sites. Do you think this might be true?
7. Pick an online product or service you would like to deliver as a business firm. Outline how you would use Idea Scale. How would you select the people for your online community? How would you prompt them to participate? What new ideas would you propose to them, or what questions would you ask them to respond to?
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Abstract
This project focuses oncrowdsourcing, the ractice of outsourcing activities that are traditionally performed by a small group of professionals to an unknown, large community of individuals. Our study examines how crowdsourcing has become an important form of labor organization, what major forms of crowdsour cing exist currently, and which tre nds of crowdsourcing will have potential impact s on the society in the future. The study is conducted through literature study on the derivation and development of crowdsourcing, through examination on current major crowd sourcing platforms, and through surveys and interviews with crowdsourcing participants on their experiences and motivations.

http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-050614-220853/unrestricted/Crowdsourcing_Today_Tomorrow.pdf