Week 8 Crowdsourcing/ Crowdfunding
Before writing this post, I learned a lot about crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding, but here I am. Hargrave (2022) states that Crowdsourcing means gathering information, knowledge, goods, or services from a larger demographic. This function works through surveys and reviews to collect responses from social media platforms, mobile phone apps, and crowdsourcing websites. These come in both paid and voluntary services. The people working with crowdsourcing usually work as paid freelancers.
An example of when crowdsourcing works efficiently is the Waze traffic app because it functions as finding drivers an option to report accidents and provide real-time information about the roadways. That means a collection of interactive data trafficking from the population itself, which is very needy for the ones on the roads.
We also have the term Crowdfunding, which has a slightly different approach by promoting resources or money/funds to support individuals, charities, and start-up businesses. It is an open wage to supply for crowdfunding requests without any payback. Companies can also provide shares to their contributors.
I was interested in Crowdfunding. Then the question of Crowdfunding for a creative community, is that a thing?
Can Crowdfunding build a community for creatives?
Yes, Artists and creatives have the opportunities at this time of the year to open campaigns to support their work and build a sustainable community based on everyone’s opinions. Exeter City Futures (2018) The idea of proposing new concepts and providing a change in a community. This makes it an attractive way to engage and build a genuine community with much participation to spread awareness and engage in different projects.
Crowdfunding opens a little dopamine boost for the participator to be able to dictate and further their wishes by doing micro-funding to their specific crowd-community. It’s a form of a democratic system led by the citizens for change. So, if a creative puts out its fundraising page, it indicates the creative is willing to support and spread their knowledge and art to the world. What also benefits are that Crowdfunding can also create outreaches to local businesses and more prominent companies for support, which results in sponsors, and partnerships, which starts this collaborative environment.
(I’m not mocking fundraising just to be frank, but it is indeed a free way to gain money through your supporters and fanbase.)
Some examples of Crowdfunding organizations for creators are Crowdfunder, an individual platform, community, business, and commercial based. It is catered toward creative cultures and innovation. Based on the all-or-nothing model or keep what you have saved up.
Kickstarter, this is more niched to crowd raising for creatives such as film production, designing, and so forth. It works as a reward or follows the all-or-nothing model.
Indiegogo, focuses on the entrepreneur side of the spectrum and displays the development of designing technology from start to finish. They have a so-called marketplace where your products can be up for sale, which is their form of Crowdfunding.
Reference
Hargrave, M 2022, ‘Crowdsourcing: Definition, How it Works, Types, and Examples’, Investopedia, viewed 5 December 2022, <https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/crowdsourcing.asp>
Exeter City Futures 2018, ‘Power of Crowdfunding for community-based projects’, Exeter City Futures, viewed 5 December 2022, <https://www.exetercityfutures.com/power-of-crowdfunding-for-community-based-projects/>
