Mar 11, 2009

AG09 - Keynote Speaker


Jeff Howe, Wired Magazine

Crowdsourcing: Why the power of the crowd is drivin the future of business

Jeff's video explanation of Crowdsourcing:
The internet created a virtual crowd that comes together through shared interests. When a company takes a job that was once performed by employees and changes it to an open call, undefined position to the general public. Photography is an example. Digital SLR, Photoshop & the Internet make amateur photographers now providig their work to stock photo sites. These groups come up as organicaly by people formally know as customers. Online communities are the building block of crowdsourcing. Shows that people can come together and create organized units.

The Warped Tour grabbed his interest on how the participants have a creative relationship with the tools to create their art. The art isn't about the technology but how the 'kids' used it to seemlessly create thir own works. It's not about content. It's about everyone having a changed relationship with their products. There is a blurring of the lines of producer and consumer.

Example: Threadless.com. User created designs for t-shirts. Then, users can vote on t-shirt designs. The tasks are things that can happen in 30 seconds. Revenue exploded. What started as an idea to please their designer friends, the site creators are now 'doing very well for themselves." What does the crowd do for Treadless?
  • gives cheep labor by creating the designs
  • designers become pseudo-famous because their designs are everywhere
  • marketing & advertising (Threadless Street Team) Threadless never spent $ on an advertising budget becaues their users do all the free advertising.
  • instant metrics for consumer demand

Example: iStockphoto.com. User genereated photos for general use. Pay by credits, not by photo. Created to benefit the community. Photographers have a place to publish their work. Designers have a place to purchase cheep photos.

Cardinal Rule of Crowdsourcing:
Ask not what your community can do for you -- ask what you can do for your community.

... left early to attend ID Zone.

1 comment:

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