Crowdsouring, though a new term and a very few people are aware of what this term means or signifies, the concept however has existed in our society since time immemorial and was often used for translation related purposes. So, first let us learn what is crowdsourcing and then we would proceed to learn about its various pros and cons.
What is Crowdsourcing?
Crowdsourcing is a term coined to describe sourcing of people who want to assist or work on a running or new project. The concept is widely used across the world today and has proved to be beneficial for the completion of small tasks like tagging photos, data entry, logo designing, graphic designing etc. These small works were earlier outsourced to large companies and huge amount of expenditure went a waste on them. This new concept however has divided the work among jobless individuals or the ones who want to work from home. Many people face constraints and hence cannot join a full time job. Such people find work from home option most suitable and crowdsourcing is one way they earn this opportunity to work.
Crowdsourcing is a polarizing development that has elicited a huge demand from design devotees. Suppose you are looking to get a freelance graphic design work done through a group of people. When you crowdsource this project, anyone can participate in it. It requires outsourcing of the work to a small group of people or to tens and thousands of people through an open call for contribution. Another example that can help explain the term better is; you want to get a logo designed for your product. For this, you host logo design contest and call for participation of the various designers. Hundreds and thousands of designers work on the proposal and submit their respective designs but only the design that looks best to the company holding the contest wins and gets the allocated money.
Pros and Cons of Crowdsoucing
A coin has both the sides and so does crowdsoucing. A freelance graphic design work or a logo design contest makes you win cash if you win but are the benefits from participation enough for the designer who cannot pull through the competition? How beneficial is it for the company hosting the task? Lets read through the various pros and cons of crowdsourcing.
For a company with tight budget, crowdsourcing solves the problem of ‘heavy cost involved’. Any company would want to spend the least possible and boost their saving. Owing to this, most of the companies have embraced this concept in a large scale and have benefited the most. For a designer, on the other hand, the moment he or she logs on to the website, crowdsourcing offers them a competitive space where they can showcase their talent and earn if the design gets selected.
However, apart from the associated advantages, there are many disadvantages also. Some of them include copyright issues for the designers and mostly new designers looking for some start participate in the contests like logo design contest. This can deteriorate the quality of the work.
Despite the associated disadvantages, the freelance graphic designers do participate in the various logo design contest and consider crowdsourcing as a boon.