Social Media As A Crowdsourcing Tool
The Internet has evolved drastically throughout the years since its initial release in the late 20th century. From allowing governments to share research resources to connecting people worldwide via social media, the Internet is without doubt an integral part of today’s society. There are a multitude of uses for the Internet and I would like to focus on the Internet as a crowdsourcing tool in this week’s blog.
Hargrave M. (2024) defines crowdsourcing as involving the gathering of work, information, or opinions from a vast number of individuals who share their data through the Internet, social media platforms, and mobile apps. However, the term was first coined in 2006 by Wiredmagazine author Jeff Howe in his article titled “The Rise of Crowdsourcing” and is a portmanteau of the words “crowd” and “sourcing”. Some advantages of crowdsourcing include reducing costs, speed, and tapping into skills not present in an in-house team (Hargrave M., 2024). Lloyd C.’s (2024) article notes that crowdsourcing has emerged as a powerful method for sparking innovation by tapping into the combined knowledge and creativity of a wide global group of contributors.
Certain uses of crowdsourcing include using user data to improve current applications or websites, gaining customer insight and preferences, crowdfunding, and problem solving and idea generation. The Mainstreethost Team (2024) mentions that Waze, a famous GPS navigation app, demonstrates crowdsourcing by using user data to give users the necessary information for a safe journey to their destination. Waze is not shy about showing people that their success is attributed to the contribution and support of their global userbase and this is evident on their website where they state “In 2009, we created a crowd-sourced navigation app that would make it easier to circumvent literal and figurative bumps in the road. How? By working together.” (The Mainstreethost Team, 2024). Unilever, a fast-moving consumer goods company, created the Foundry platform to engage with startups and innovators globally, aiming to find solutions for their business challenges. The platform invited participants to submit their ideas across various areas, such as product development, marketing, and sustainability initiatives (Lloyd C., 2024).
Additionally, crowdsourcing can be observed in ways other than the aforementioned. People can take to the Internet or social media to share news of current world events such as the infamous Notre-Dame Cathedral fire, where an inferno engulfed the spire of the building and most of its roof. Consumers now do not have to solely rely on news outlets to gain insight into new content. They can interact with journalists, news organizations as well as fellow readers directly, giving feedback and sharing their opinions and insights at the same time (Yellowbrick, 2023). The sharing of news can be seen as crowdsourcing as people are splitting the workload of news outlets through the Internet.
Crowdfunding is also an example of crowdsourcing. Smith T. (2024) defines crowdfunding as involving the gathering of money or funding of a business by collecting small amounts of capital from a large group of individuals. Smith T. (2024) mentions the importance of raising capital for the growth of a company and that established organizations and companies usually face no challenge in borrowing extra capital. However, small startups often come across obstacles in this area and this is exactly where crowdfunding comes in. Usually, small startups would take onto the Internet to post adverts of their company and state that they need funding. They would then include links to various fund donation websites such as GoFundMe in their adverts or social media posts and hope that users would stumble upon their announcement. These posts usually have a goal amount set for the donators to achieve, such as 100,000 US dollars or more.
The effectiveness of crowdfunding can be improved using social media. Castellano P. writes that demonstrating social proof using your social media profiles can increase the legitimacy of your business and people are more inclined to support your company when they see others doing the same. Another method of improving your company’s crowdfunding, as indicated in Castellano’s writing is promoting giveaways in your social media accounts or platforms. Doing so will increase your business’ popularity as well as reach, which in turn can lead to increased audience engagement.
To conclude, I personally think that the Internet or social media, to be exact, can be an effective tool for crowdsourcing if used strategically. Its unparalleled potential from improving products to funding new ventures and sharing crucial information transforms how we collaborate and create. The ability for people to come together to achieve a goal in unison creates a sense of shared purpose that drives meaningful progress in today’s digital world.
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Castellano P., The Role of Social Media in Crowdfunding Success, Funded Today, viewed 6th November 2024, https://www.funded.today/blog/the-role-of-social-media-in-crowdfunding-succcess#:~:text=Social%20media%20is%20an%20important,buzz%20and%20attract%20new%20backers
Hargrave M., 17th October 2024, Crowdsourcing: Definition, How It Works, Types, and Examples, Investopedia, viewed 6th November 2024, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/crowdsourcing.asp#:~:text=Crowdsourcing%20is%20the%20collection%20of,from%20all%20over%20the%20world.
Lloyd C., 18th July 2024, 5 Crowdsourcing Examples that Delivered Impressive Business Results, Qmarkets, viewed 6th November 2024, https://www.qmarkets.net/resources/article/five-crowdsourcing-examples/
The Mainstreethost Team, 9th September 2024, 4 Examples of Clever Crowdsourcing Campaigns, Mainstreethost, viewed 6th November 2024, https://www.mainstreethost.com/blog/four-examples-of-clever-crowdsourcing-campaigns/
Smith T., 30th May 2024, Crowdfunding: What It Is, How It Works, and Popular Websites, Investopedia, viewed 6th November 2024, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/crowdfunding.asp
Yellowbrick, 4th December 2023, The Power of Social Media in News Spreading, Yellowbrick, viewed 6th November 2024, https://www.yellowbrick.co/blog/journalism/the-power-of-social-media-in-news-spreading