Managing Crowdsourcing VenturesDaren C. Brabham, Ph.D.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

October 27, 2011MBA 812: Strategic Communication & Social Media

Prof. Michael Meredith

Agenda• How and why I study crowdsourcing• What crowdsourcing is– Four types for four kinds of problems

• Effective management principles for crowdsourcing ventures

• Q&A

How & Why I Study Crowdsourcing

How & Why I Study Crowdsourcing• Crowdsourcing as a model for problem solving• A critical, humanist approach• More concerned with relationships & human

experience– I’m optimistic, multi-method, holistic in research

• Less concerned with performance & efficiency– Those are the computer scientists and business

innovation scholars

A Struggle Over the Term• Challenges “in the form of an open call”• “An online, distributed problem solving and

production model”• Like anything in Wired, “crowdsourcing” was

an instant buzzword• Old wine in new bottles?• A bloated concept makes for unclear research

Generally, Crowdsourcing is…• A process whereby:– an organization poses a specific challenge to an

online community (a crowd)– the crowd answers that challenge– the organization benefits from the crowd’s labor

• Driven by collective intelligence & wisdom of crowds

• Openness + top-down management

A Crowdsourcing Typology• Knowledge Discovery and Management• Broadcast Search• Peer-Vetted Creative Production• Distributed Human Intelligence Tasking

Knowledge Discovery & Mgmt• Online communities challenged to uncover

existing knowledge in the network• Amplify discovery capabilities of an

organization with limited resources• Ideal for info. gathering, organizing, and

reporting problems (e.g., creating collective resources)

Knowledge Discovery & Mgmt

Broadcast Search• Online communities challenged to find

empirical solutions to difficult problems• Casting a wide net finds the “needle in the

haystack” – the genius able to solve the problem

• Ideal for ideation problems with empirical solutions (e.g., scientific problems)

Broadcast Search

Peer-Vetted Creative Production• Online communities challenged to develop

and choose solutions to ideation problems• Inviting lot of diverse input brings in many

(different) ideas. People “find the best stuff”• Ideal for ideation problems where solutions

are matters of taste or market support (e.g., design/aesthetic and policy problems)

Peer-Vetted Creative Production

Peer-Vetted Creative Production

Distributed Human Intelligence Tasking

• Online communities tasked to perform simple tasks that computers cannot do well

• Decomposing a problem/task requiring human intelligence into smaller pieces and distributing it is faster, better

• Ideal for large-scale data analysis requiring human intelligence

Distributed Human Intelligence Tasking

Typology Summary• KD&M – Knowledge exists “out there.” Let’s find

it and organize it. (collective resources)• BS – There’s an empirically right answer. We just

don’t know it. Let’s find it. (scientific problems)• PVCP – The “right” answer is a matter of taste.

Let’s have the market submit and select what it wants. (design & aesthetic problems)

• DHIT – We have lots of data to analyze. Computers won’t do. Let’s break the problem down and get people to do the work. (data analysis problems)

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 1. Clearly define your problem, solution

parameters, and selection mechanism.

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 2. Determine your level of commitment to the

outcomes.

Policy Advisory

The impact of the crowd’s ideas on your organizational decisions

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 3. Know the crowd and their motivations.

or

oror

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 4. Invest in usable, interesting, well designed

tools.

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 5. Invest in legal help. Consider legal needs of

you and the crowd.

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 6. Have a promotional plan & a plan to grow

and sustain the community.

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 7. Be honest, transparent, and responsive.

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 8. Be involved, but let go of control.

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 9. Acknowledge users and follow through on

obligations.

10 Crowdsourcing Mgmt Principles• 10. Assess the project from many angles.– Site traffic analytics, user registration data– Interviews with participants– Analysis of submissions– Public relations impact (even in failure)

Thank You!• Questions?

www.linkedin.com/in/darenbrabham@dbrabhamdarenbrabham