Crowdsourcing in Practice The act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call. (Howe, 2009)

Threadless.com

How it works People submit T-shirt designs Users (registered members) vote for the best (“coolest”) design The winner gets cash and other prizes (including a Medal of Honor) Everyone else gets to buy the (winning) T-shirt

A Good Business Plan? $17 million in revenues in 2006 (and growing) Big profit margin – spends $5 to produce a T- shirt and sells for up to $25 Advertising or marketing is mostly done through word-of-mouth Cost of the design ($2,000 + $500 gift certificate) is only a fraction of the income Keeps all the intellectual property (of the winning designs)

What's the motivation? Monetary reward Reputation/ Appreciation Opportunity to develop creative (and also technical) skills Potential to take up freelance (or full time) work Love of the community (addiction) Fun/ pleasure

Is it also a learning practice? Outlet to be creative Learning by participating Learning and improving technical skills Community design classes Example of entrepreneurship

References Howe, Jeff. Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business. New York: Crown Publishing Group, Howe, Jeff. [Weblog Crowdsourcing] 14 April Brabham, Darren. "Moving the Crowd at Threadless: Motivations for Participation in a Crowdsourcing Application." SSRN Working Paper Series 29 March