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A lot is being said about crowdsourcing these days. People with different schools of thought and varying opinions, observations and critiques are letting themselves be heard across every platform. With so much information out there (which is often contradictory), it can sometimes be hard to separate fact from fiction and right from wrong. With this post I hope to clear the air and outline crowdsourcing for what it truly is.

Bridging the Gap between Designers and Clients – Many people are of the opinion that crowdsourcing can lead to a communications gap between designers and clients. The responsibility of communication however lies primarily with the client. They create the briefs, design specifications and they are responsible for ensuring all designer queries and questions are promptly answered. This healthy exchange back and forth promotes efficient client-designer interaction and bridges the gap between both the parties.

Get More Done in Less Time – With numerous creative minds chipping in their talents, crowdsourcing gets more accomplished in less time. This is important for companies as time is money. The quickly they can get the desired results and move on, the better. Sometimes getting to a point first is just as important as getting there, period.

Opportunity to Come Up With and Debate the Best Solution – Anyone can come up with a conceptual idea or a solution. Crowdsourcing can be used to tap into varying skill sets in order to come up with multiple solutions for clients. These solutions can then be further debated and scrutinized in order to sort out the best answer to the client’s specifications. It is a good opportunity to put all heads together and come up with an answer.

Crowdsourcing Just Works!

In the end, I suppose the one thing that everyone should know about crowdsourcing is that it works, provided it is applied correctly and smartly. Companies should have a firm understanding of what they want and how they are going to go about getting it. They should also know crowd sourcing along with what it is and isn’t. While that may vary from person to person, one thing that crowdsourcing definitely is, is a great testament to the power of the crowd.