Crowdsourcing is the practice of requesting or supplying products or services by a group of individuals via a website or social media platform. This sort of project aims to achieve the greatest possible outcome by depending on the collective efforts of many individuals rather than the efforts of a single person. Crowdsourcing may be a beneficial technique for developing stunning, one-of-a-kind designs. Thus, we have made a list of 5 best crowdsourcing sites for you.
What exactly are Crowdsourcing Sites?
Crowdsourcing means obtaining information, commodities, or services from a big group of individuals. These people respond to online calls for ideas via social media, smartphone applications, or specific crowdsourcing platforms.
Some crowdsourcers are paid freelancers; however, depending on the nature of the information or skills required, most people execute this work on a volunteer basis.
Online reviews are an excellent example of crowdsourcing. Congratulations if you’ve ever rated a restaurant, gym, or bar on Google! You’re an effective crowdsourcing participant.
Crowdsourcing: A Brief History
As you all know what are crowdsourcing sites. Now let’s look into its history. Businesses, governments, and public organizations have traditionally relied on crowdsourcing for unique new product and service ideas.
In 1714, for example, the British government offered a substantial £20,000 prize (almost £3 million in today’s currency) to anybody who could create a simple, dependable method of measuring longitude at sea, which watchmaker John Harrison finally won.
Our capacity to communicate with many brains on a broad scale in today’s digital era has made it much simpler to turn to vast groups of people for inventive new ideas.
People from various industries utilize crowdsourcing to uncover unique ideas, material, and inspiration for initiatives, as author Jeff Howe underlined in his landmark 2006 Wired piece ‘The Rise of Crowdsourcing.’ Business people, artists, scientists, engineers, and others are all included.
What can crowdsourcing accomplish?
The article discussed how stock photo companies such as iStockphoto were transforming the photography business by substantially lowering the cost of an image by utilizing resources from “the crowd”: anybody who wants to post a picture on the platform and enable it to be sold at a low price. There is a very near cousin to this type of site in the 3D printing and digital manufacturing industry: 3D file and 2D file markets, which enable you to locate extraordinarily inexpensive or even free designs that you can 3D print, laser-cut, and rework at will.
Crowdsourcing comes in several forms
Crowdsourcing may be used to find answers to a wide range of problems. This may range from something as simple as a band asking its fans which places they should visit on their next tour to more ambitious undertakings like genetic researchers seeking assistance in mapping the human genome.
The breadth and diversity of social media platforms also provide enormous possibilities for crowdsourcing, as seen by the Obama administration’s use of Twitter to solicit questions for town hall discussions and football teams, allowing supporters to vote for the team’s starting lineup before each match.
Crowdsourcing can also shape idea competitions, such as Ideas for Action, which provides a platform for students and young professionals to contribute solutions to global innovation concerns.
The Top 5 Crowdsourcing Sites
1. Indiegogo
Danae Ringelmann, Eric Schell, and Slava Rubin launched Indiegogo, Inc. in 2008 to support their causes and ideas. Today, over 15 million individuals use the Indiegogo website every month, and around 19,000 projects are launched each month.
You may establish a crowdfunding campaign for any idea or product with Indiegogo, available in 235 countries and territories. To begin collecting donations through the site, you may put up a campaign for up to 60 days, for which there is a 5% platform charge plus a 3.25% third-party processing fee.
2. StartEngine
StartEngine is the best crowdsourcing site. StartEngine is a noteworthy alternative for individuals wishing to invest money. The site lets regular people like you put your money directly into companies and startups you respect and receive stock in exchange, starting with as little as $100.
StartEngine is a platform that allows anyone to become an investor in early-stage firms. It was founded in 2014 by Ron Miller and Howard Marks, with Kevin O’Leary, TV host of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” as a strategic advisor. Because of its user-friendly investing method, it is our choice for the finest crowdfunding site for investors.
You may begin investing in any of the firms listed on its website, ranging from biotech pioneers to travel and tourism entrepreneurs, for as little as $100, depending on the share value specified for the company. Each company’s profile provides information such as the company’s value, price per share, number of investors, and more to help you make an informed investment decision.
When you’re ready to invest, click the “Invest Now” button to begin the process by entering your personal information and payment method. If you are a company looking for funding, the site has assisted 375 enterprises in raising capital through its network of over 500,000 investors and 600,000 users.
3. GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an obvious choice for personal fundraising needs. It is a versatile site that has helped individuals collect cash for everything from private healthcare expenditures to keeping local businesses afloat. Its track record of achievement includes raising more than $9 billion in donations from over 120 million people.
GoFundMe was launched in 2010 and has since evolved to become one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms. GoFundMe is earning more than $9 billion from over 120 million donations. Its success and simplicity contribute to it being the most excellent platform for people.
In three simple steps, you can create a GoFundMe page. First, build your campaign by specifying how much money you raise. Following that, share your tale, which may include images and videos. Finally, spread the word about your campaign to your friends and family by social media, text message, and email.
You may manage your donations using the platform’s dashboard, where you can write thank-you cards, withdraw payments, and do other things. GoFundMe offers a 0% platform cost, which is a bonus compared to other platforms that charge platform fees plus processing fees. The firm charges a processing fee of 1.9 percent and $0.30 for every transaction. Because there are no time limits or deadlines, you can raise funds for as long as you like.
4. UTestMe
UTestMe is one of the best crowdsourcing sites. uTest is a community of over 500,000 testers searching for freelance employment and new challenges to advance their careers. To deliver the most satisfactory software testing experience, they also have a staff of community managers that link testers with customers. When users join uTest, they are matched with high-quality freelance software testing opportunities that fit their skills and interests.
If you’re searching for a community platform to help you improve your user testing skills, uTest is one of the greatest crowdsourcing sites to check out. With the rapid growth of no-code development platforms expected in 2021, a crowdsourcing platform like uTest provides a clear value to those engaged.
5. Upwork
Upwork is a one of the crowdsourcing sites that allows to hire thousands of freelancers to do tasks like writing an article or developing software. Their UI makes it simple for those with little experience of crowdsourcing platforms to utilize them and finish jobs as fast and efficiently as possible — you can even use templates to speed up the process. When you submit your assignment or crowdsourced project online, whether through a mobile app or a desktop browser window, you specify the sort of work required, and a list of freelancers is presented to you. Once you’ve been chosen, you may communicate with them and arrange a pay rate via the site.
What are the benefits of using crowdsourcing?
Everyone knows that two heads are better than one when it comes to problem-solving.
Isn’t two heads better than one? 10,000 brains.
Companies may receive outstanding recommendations for a new product or service or a novel solution to a complex problem by posing a question to a diverse talent pool.
This not only aids in problem-solving but also helps groups to feel linked to businesses and organizations. Building this contributor network may provide significant rewards in marketing, brand awareness, and consumer loyalty.
Crowdsourcing also has a slew of other advantages:
Lower costs: While winning ideas should be recognized, providing these prizes is frequently much less expensive than officially hiring individuals to address issues.
More incredible speed: Using a larger pool of individuals helps speed up problem-solving, especially when performing a large number of little tasks in real-time.
More diversity: Some businesses (notably smaller businesses) may lack internal diversity. They may gain crowdsourcing ideas from individuals with diverse origins, perspectives, and life experiences.
How to Successfully Crowdsource Your Projects?
You may crowdsource your work in a variety of ways. The most efficient method is to collaborate with a credible website with a large following of individuals interested in your concept.
Another alternative is to design your website or social media platform just for this purpose. Just make sure you’re gathering all of the required information, such as how many people have entered and how they’re proceeding through the design process, as well as their replies and likes/dislikes.
The final option is to utilize social media to solicit assistance from friends and family interested in your project. This might be done via private messaging or public posts on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
Also, keep in mind that if you pose a topic or problem to a crowd, you may end up with a less-than-ideal answer. Consider the amusing case of Boaty McBoatface or the crowdsourced concert schedule that sent Justin Bieber to North Korea.
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, crowdsourcing can help businesses and organizations of all sizes uncover helpful ideas and answers to complex challenges.
Crowdsourcing allows businesses to tap into a more extensive and diversified pool of creative ability by bringing many brains together. Crowdsourcing is a quick approach to getting ideas, whether to find product range proposals or to break down big projects into microtasks.
Not every project is a suitable fit for crowdsourcing, but you may find the next million-dollar idea in the audience if you do it correctly.
