Look up ....

Not at the ceiling - at the top of this blog.

Yep, up there .. at the blog logo.

That logo is the result of crowdsourcing.

So let's rewind to a few weeks ago. I decided I needed a new logo for this blog. Normally to get this done, I would have to go out and source a graphic designer, review their work, create and articulate a brief, negotiate rates and then roll the dice and hope they came up with something I liked.

Instead of following this process, I decided to crowdsource my logo design. I went to 99designs, decided on a fee, put a brief together and then sat back and waited for the designs to come in. And come in they did.

In the course of a few days I had over 105 different logos to choose from, coming from many different designers. I could rate the designs, give the designers feedback, and the designers would modify and rework various ideas. In the end I chose a design I liked, awarded the fee, and had the original design files and copyright transfered to me.

It was a great process - with one huge benefit - I got to draw upon the ideas of many many designers from all over the world. I was not locked in to one designer, and I got to see and evaluate the ideas - iteration and engagement really worked.

So what is crowdsourcing? Well, like the example above, crowdsourcing is taking a task or project that you would normally just assign to a single person, and outsourcing it to a larger audience. The process of crowdsourcing is made substantially easier by the use of the Internet.

A number of businesses have sprouted up around crowdsourcing, 99designs being just one. Perhaps you have heard of the stock photography site istockphoto, which is another great example of the use of crowdsourcing. Or maybe you have heard of Wikipedia? An entire online encyclopedia produced collaboratively.

Crowdsourcing may not be perfect for every type of work, but for anything that is really enhanced by diversity and exposure to a broad range of ideas and approaches, then crowdsourcing can really work.

If you want some more info, here's a short video on crowdsourcing.