Power of the Crowd
Today we will be looking into crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, two of which may seem similar but mean something entirely different. However, setting the differences aside, they are both similar in terms of gathering mass-community for collaboration.
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is actually derived from two words: crowd and outsourcing. Thus, crowdsourcing is a process of outsourcing information, knowledge, skills, talents or end products from the crowd, especially from online crowds. An easy and common example to illustrate what crowdsourcing is would be Wikipedia. Wikipedia itself is a free online encyclopaedia, created and edited daily by people around the world (Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge n.d.). In other words, it is a crowdsourced encyclopaedia.
Next, we have a web application and crowdsourcing platform known as Tomnod. It is a project owned by Colorado-based satellite company DigitalGlobe that uses crowdsourcing to identify objects and places using satellite images (Hershkovitz 2018). This group of volunteers use Tomnod for a number of purposes, one of which is to solve real-world problems such as locating refugee camps in Somalia, searching for the tomb of Genghis Khan, mapping the ruins after Typhoon Haiyan and searching for Malaysia Airline Flight 370. With the power of the crowd, the public is able to assist in the task by giving inputs and insights, rather than hiring or recruiting people to work on the task. This allows for faster results with greater accuracy (White 2017).
Crowdsourced Search Effort for Malaysian Airlines MH370
During the disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines MH370 in 2014, it was a challenge for several countries to mechanically scan and analyse the vast oceanic area of 305,000 sq km. This is when Tomnod stepped in to help by offering satellite images out for public viewing and identification. The public were then asked to tag images that seem to contain airplane wreckage, floating life-raft, oil spills or anything helpful to that of the search of the missing plane (Ambani 2014). The project itself was able to harness over 8 million contributors working in synchrony to try and solve the problem.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding, as the name suggests, is a process of sourcing money or funds from the crowd. This process is commonly done on social media where friends or a group of people share a common campaign they support. It is a great way for people who do not have access to sources or are in need of large amounts of capital to raise the fund they need. This capital is normally raised through collective efforts by friends, family, customers or other investors.
Maker Mobile, Chumbaka’s Crowdfunded Project
I will be putting forward a personal example in regards to crowdfunding. My example is related to a Malaysian based crowdfunding platform, known as Webe Community. This platform enables Malaysians to pitch their projects onto a public forum and puts it up for public voting. If the project receives enough community support, the winning project can become a reality. Voting is done via social media platforms like Facebook. However, instead of the community contributing the funds to turn the project into reality, it is Webe Community that is funding the most popular projects (Tan 2016). The crowd only contributes to the voting and support.
Tying it back to my personal example, my brother’s company, Chumbaka, has submitted their idea pitch to Webe Community’s crowdfunding platform and true enough their project was the winning one in year 2017. The project is known as Maker Mobile and it is one of the first four projects shortlisted for Webe Community’s support in year 2017 (Maker mobile sets to inspire Malaysian students nationwide 2017). Maker Mobile is a travelling makerspace which provides hands-on STEM-based workshops to students all across Peninsula Malaysia. The project aims to reach out to 30 schools and 900 students in 30 days.
Here’s a sharing by Nazeem Nasir, Chief Marketing Officer of Webe Community: “Through our social media pledging platfrom, webe community creates a dynamic space for social innovators to convene, collaborate and curate ideas to create a collective impact on society. We’ve already unlocked four projects this year and hope to inspire more passionate change makers to become part of the growing webe community network.”
In a nutshell, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding has enabled businesses, entrepreneurs, leaders of humanitarian efforts and all other individuals with a cause to harness the power of the crowd to build and realize future success.
References:
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge, n.d. Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 12 May 2019, <https://wikimediafoundation.org/ >
Hershkhovitz, S 2018, A Thousand Eyes Are Better Than Two, Crowd Sourcing Week, viewed 12 May 2019, <https://crowdsourcingweek.com/blog/thousand-eyes-better-than-two/ >
White, J 2017, What is Tomnod? DeepCore.Io, viewed 12 May 2019, <http://www.deepcore.io/2017/05/21/what-is-tomnod/>
Ambani, P 2014, Join the International Crowdsourced Search Effort for Malaysian Airlines MH370, Crowd Sourcing Week, viewed 12 May 2019, <https://crowdsourcingweek.com/blog/crowdsourced-search-mh370/>
Tan, KH 2016, Webe Community takes crowd backing to another level, The Star Online, viewed 12 May 2019, <https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2016/04/12/webe-community-takes-crowd-backing-to-another-level/>
Maker mobile sets to inspire Malaysian students nationwide, 2017, Enterprise IT News, viewed 12 May 2019, <http://www.enterpriseitnews.com.my/maker-mobile-sets-to-inspire-malaysian-students-nationwide/>
