Definition
Crowdsourcing is a neologism for the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form of an open call. For example, the public may be invited to develop a new technology, carry out a design task (also known as community-based design and distributed participatory design), refine an algorithm or help capture, systematize or analyze large amounts of data (see also citizen science). The term has become popular with business authors and journalists as shorthand for the trend of leveraging the mass collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies to achieve business goals. However, both the term and its underlying business models have attracted controversy and criticism.
Pro-crowdsourcing
In some cases, the labor is well compensated. In other cases, the only rewards may be kudos or intellectual satisfaction. Crowdsourcing may produce solutions from amateurs or volunteers working in their spare time, or from small businesses which were unknown to the initiating organization
Furthermore, interest in knowing how, why, and when certain crowdsourcing applications are successful involves understanding the motivations of the crowd to participate in this problem–solving. Uses and gratifications theories suggest that individuals in the crowd are drawn to crowdsourcing applications for a number of reasons and that they are gratified in various ways through participation. Where open source models emphasize the common good (Bonaccorsi and Rossi, 2003, 2004; Lancashire, 2001) and hobbyist (Ghosh, 1998a, 1998b; 2005) interest in the success of certain applications, crowdsourcing models add to these factors the existence of a bounty and a more explicit encouragement of the learning of new skills for entrepreneurship. The bounty can sometimes consist of cash and prizes, but it also includes cultural capital and can help people learn skills and develop their portfolios for future work and entrepreneurship (Mack, 2006). Again, the problem with this kind of theorizing about what motivates the crowd to participate in crowdsourcing applications is a lack of research. What moves the crowd to participate in this form of distributed, collective problem–solving?
Furthermore, interest in knowing how, why, and when certain crowdsourcing applications are successful involves understanding the motivations of the crowd to participate in this problem–solving. Uses and gratifications theories suggest that individuals in the crowd are drawn to crowdsourcing applications for a number of reasons and that they are gratified in various ways through participation. Where open source models emphasize the common good (Bonaccorsi and Rossi, 2003, 2004; Lancashire, 2001) and hobbyist (Ghosh, 1998a, 1998b; 2005) interest in the success of certain applications, crowdsourcing models add to these factors the existence of a bounty and a more explicit encouragement of the learning of new skills for entrepreneurship. The bounty can sometimes consist of cash and prizes, but it also includes cultural capital and can help people learn skills and develop their portfolios for future work and entrepreneurship (Mack, 2006). Again, the problem with this kind of theorizing about what motivates the crowd to participate in crowdsourcing applications is a lack of research. What moves the crowd to participate in this form of distributed, collective problem–solving?
Against-crowdsourcing
Some reports have focused on the negative effects of crowdsourcing on business owners, particularly in regard to how a crowdsourced project can sometimes end up costing a business more than a traditionally outsourced project.
Some of the pitfalls of crowdsourcing include:
- Added costs to bring a project to an acceptable conclusion.
- Increased likelihood that a crowdsourced project will fail due to lack of monetary motivation, too few participants, lower quality of work, lack of personal interest in the project, global language barriers, or difficulty managing a large-scale, crowdsourced project.
- Below-market wages., or no wages at all. Barter agreements are often associated with crowdsourcing.
- No written contracts, non-disclosure agreements, or employee agreements or agreeable terms with crowdsourced employees.
- Difficulties maintaining a working relationship with crowdsourced workers throughout the duration of a project.
- Susceptibility to faulty results caused by targeted, malicious work efforts.
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