Crowdsourcing is not staying forever

It’s the next big thing nowadays: Crowdsourcing. Al lot of specialised agencies pop up to ride this bandwagon (Creative Crowds, The Crowds, Favela Fabric to name a few) or either developing it. And all the media are talking about it. Lately also Dutch radioprogramme Radio Online (TROS) was broadcasting an issue on crowdsourcing. And even presenter Peter de Bie (normally very sceptical) was enthousiastic. Well, the blogs are buzzing, and congress/seminar organizers have a topic again to fill the rooms with. Do I sound negative? That’s not my intention. Because I do believe in the principles behind crowdsourcing. What I do not believe in however – let’s say that I doubt the effect in the long run – is the way many corporations are using crowdsourcing nowadays.

There is simply no true dialogue going on. When a company like KLM is asking clients in their BlueLab-initiative to bring up ideas to better their product, this could be defined as advanced and sensible market research. When KLM implements one of those idease and makes 30 million euro with it, then I start doubting. Because KLM – in this example – is using Open Source techniques to gather ideas, but KLM did not transform it’s business model to Open Source-principles. In the end their performance is measured on the stock exchange: their shareholders are profiting  from the ideas clients generate. Those clients ‘only’ profit because they see their ideas implemented and get the attention and recognition.

Apperantely that’s enough for current customers. More than happy that they are to have at least some way to talk back to companies that rested in ivory towers in relation to their clients. I believe that this way of using crowdsourcing (please do read the disclaimer at Dell’s IdeaStorm-website!) will work. But not for long. When companies one sided exploit ideas from crowds, these crowds someday will aks for their fair share. Or they switch to a competitor that does deliver on the dialogue. Other initiatives – like Sellaband – do share the profits with their crowd. In fact: it’s part of their business model. So: be Open Source when using Open Source principles. Or just pay for ideas that you can’t come up with yourself.

april 2, 2008 | Filed Under digital life, marcom, ramblings 

Comments

3 Responses to “Crowdsourcing is not staying forever”

  1. Carl on mei 12th, 2008 %H:%M

    Hi Wim,

    Your post correctly points out that crowdsourcing comes down to motivating crowds. When you say that ‘crowdsourcing is not staying forever’ you are probably right; crowdsourcing the way we know it, that is. But you should look at it as a step on the way forward.

    What I think is very important to acknowledge is that companies are finding new ways of motivating people. The most important trend here is that not only external motivation (like money and authority) is used but that internal motivation is at the basis of success.

    I can’t agree with your statement: “just pay for ideas that you can’t come up with yourself”, money is by far not the only, and many times not the most important motivator.

    Interesting post!

  2. Wim Andréa on mei 15th, 2008 %H:%M

    Hi Carl,

    Thanks for your comment. I stated my opinion rather bluntly in order to get the thinking going. I do believe – although the new dynamics that is introduced with all CS-initiatives is very interesting indeed – however that there is something pityfull in it: the internal motivation experienced by customers and prospects of commercial(!) parties is also the effect of years of neglectance, ignorance and sheer arrogance. Clearly people are now already happy (motivated) that there is somethink that looks like a dialogue…

    I do think that this is crucially different when it comes to initiatives like VPRO is showing. Or how governmental bodies are getting involved with citizens. When it comes to public broadcast (multicast), jounalism and the way we live together, I can understand the internal motivation better.

    Wim

  3. Carl on mei 15th, 2008 %H:%M

    Hi Wim,

    You are absolutely right: the public sector has enormous “crowdsourcing-potential”. Maybe nice to know is that one of our projects is verbeterdebuurt.nl which will be the Dutch equivalent of http://www.fixmystreet.com.

    VPRO does great things here indeed. I especially like Landroof http://www.landroof.nl/

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