Comments on: Is advertising giving crowdsourcing a bad name?

By: Anthony Butler

Anthony Butler — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 06:50:43 +0000

With all that said, I applaud your continued coverage of co-creation possibilities enabled by Internet.

Even if it moves you further away from what people consider ‘advertising’

arb:

By: Anthony Butler

Anthony Butler — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 06:26:36 +0000

Edward,

If you look at the high-profile results of crowdsourcing concepts (consumer-generated SuperBowl spots) the ad industry is simply doing the equivalent of moving the factory to China for the benefit of their clients. Perhaps the means of production is cheaper, but the quality sucks…

Speaking of which, the video posted on your Twitter account explaining the latest crowdsourcing entrant “Guided by Voices” has a graphic in it that seems awfully reminiscent of the Opening for the 2008 Beijing Games, with the square drums moving up and down.
http://vimeo.com/9384193

The scenario sketched out by GBV is capital’s wet dream–thousands of skilled workers ready to act immediately in accordance with whatever orders come down from management.

The second part of your article got my attention… I’d love to see the likes of McKinsey and Accenture crowdsourced off their lofty perches. Can anyone who’s been in business for more than 10 years recall hearing a truly great business idea from these overpriced ‘consultants’? If they were any good they’d be starting their own business.

The Internet can certainly be used to encourage and shape community participation for the greater benefit. I do have a problem when Guided By Voices (name not crowdsourced-just stolen from a musical group) distract people with shiny infographics and English accents–when their real message is clients don’t have to pay for anyone’s health insurance anymore.

By: edward boches

edward boches — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:04:39 +0000

Obviously you should or are or will read Jaron Lanier. You’ll have much in common, I think. Agree that the process is the thing. Of course we want to sometimes guide the process and other times be surprised. So, what’s your next move? Heard that change is in the air.

By: Randy Corke

Randy Corke — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:32:16 +0000

Edward, thanks for helping spread the message that crowdsourcing isn’t all contests and “free labor”. While its true that we are still early in the cycle, the underlying concept of crowdsourcing of opening up innovation and problem solving to those outside of an organization’s four walls is only going to gain steam as more and more begin to master the use of it. There are so many places to apply the concept outside of creative contests. It’s an exciting time, and we’re all learning.

By: Bruce DeBoer

Bruce DeBoer — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:26:44 +0000

Edward – I too listened to the entire Crowdsourcery at Social Media Week taped version for the obvious reasons that the folks on the panel are leaders in their space. All the panelists seemed to be talking themselves into the same conclusion about crowsourcing’s immature value.

I’ve been trying to express my opinions about where crowdsourcing fits and from this point on I will direct people to this post because you wrote what I’ve been thinking for weeks – thank you, it’s been a struggle.

Crowdsourcing has become an ugly name because it now connotes (and at times denotes) exploitation where open source or co-creation suggests teamwork. Moreover, regardless of how many examples we can find in our business where the winner takes all, spec work has been the bane of the freelance market since I entered it in 1980.

In its newness there seems to be a hyper expectation for how crowdsourcing may change creative development and finished product. The bottom line is that brilliance and imagination come from individuals. Teamwork can help but it’s the individual who puts pencil to paper. We can use new tools to find that brilliance or to excite our culture to move a cause, but creativity’s true brilliance is a point source.

Thanks again for great incites.
.-= Bruce DeBoer´s last blog ..VW ‘Punch Dub’ Ad is the Winner of the Super Bowl Spots =-.

By: faris

faris — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:19:25 +0000

agree indeed dude. messaging or indeed finished creative outputs are simply one application/ as i said increasingly i’m more interested in the process than the outputs – participatory consumers are drawn to processes more than products. I think.

that splenda facebook thing is a good example – naked worked on that when I was there. the process is the idea, the research is the launch. the community is being engaged and there is a value exchange.

i’m not skeptical in the sense the mobs are stupid – as I point out in my post, no one is smarter than everyone. but it’s not either or – binary simplification like that doesn’t work for me.

context is everything.

rock ON! FX

By: Pete B

Pete B — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:47:21 +0000

A great post. Really agree, especially the point about advertising often seeing crowd sourcing as something to think up a new logo or strap line.

As you rightly point out the true potential power of crowd sourcing is getting passionate consumers to help solve business problems / move business forward, in whatever way is required, not just TV spots. Reminds me of the work ‘We are social’ are doing with Marmite http://bit.ly/dt05N4 .

Often in advertising I feel we think that people out in the real world are OK to give opinions on small aspects of a TV creative but nothing more, as “they don’t understand”. We often forget that these people are our own wives / mums / sisters and it may be that it is we who possibly fail to understand, getting caught up in a world of buzzwords and lingo which ultimately in the light of the real world means nothing.

Bringing more people into creative problem solving can only be a positive step for the industry.

By: Arafat Kazi

Arafat Kazi — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:44:07 +0000

I think about once a month you make a post that gets me so excited that I end up hitting my desk and shouting “HELL YES!!!!”. This is one of those.

I think crowdsourcing has a lot of potential outside of advertising. The SomethingAwful forums regularly produce compilation albums that are really good. I’m working on an album right now and a lot of my tracks are crowdsourced. Then they had that crowdsourced Star Wars movie. This is all cool stuff.

If the mantra of the 2000s was “content is king”, I think this decade will have “collaboration is king”.

By: John Winsor

John Winsor — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:59:28 +0000

Thanks, Edward. Anytime there is a radical change in the works it's hard to see it from the vantage point of someone that could potentially be adversely effected. .-= John Winsor´s last blog .. =-.

By: edward boches

edward boches — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:42:32 +0000

John,
Thanks. You should know that you have been one of my sources of inspiration in this space. Your sense of conviction and understanding of how to do things is useful to all of us. The panel was great. Wish I could have been on it. But I was a little surprised at the skepticism from some of the others. I agree with some of Faris’s points (Jaron Lanier says similar things) and totally understand the shortcomings re: Big Spaceship’s approach. But I fear we’ll dismiss it for what it can’t do rather than embrace it for what it can do. There is some wisdom in the crowd (not always a lot, but some) and a never ending desire to participate. Much to be gained and much to leverage.