The Beauty of Competition

Foundations of Crowdsourcing

The internet is amazing to say the least. Personally, I think it is the greatest wonder of the world for numerous reasons. But I think the greatest reason is the things that the internet allows to happen, such as crowdsourcing. Of course, just a quick visit to its Wikipedia page shows that the idea and practice of crowdsourcing  were in existence before the creation of the internet (although the term wasn’t coined until 2005). However, it has never been utilized in such a massive (global, really) scale until the internet integrated to become an essential part of our society.

But the internet wasn’t the sole reason for the rise of crowdsourcing. All it did was provide the medium for the transactions between producers and consumers. The most important part of crowdsourcing is the large number of producers, and this is only made possible by advancements in technology. Think about it. Whenever new technology comes out (it doesn’t necessarily have to be electronics, but I’m going to use it as a primary example) it is usually expensive. I still remember when USB flash drives first came out, ones with 256MB capacities costed at least $50. Nowadays they virtually worthless. Heck, I just found one on Amazon for $3.15. I’ve even received a 2GB one for free just for attending an hour long conference.

Now, the reason for this is because when new inventions are made, they are highly inefficient. Combined with the lack of initial competition, the prices of the products are bound to be relatively high. But as time goes on and technology improves, the products not only get better, but are also easier to produce as well. And if there is a market, other companies will join in the competition, thus driving the price of the products down. Finally, once the cost is low enough, the item becomes affordable for almost anyone that wants it. So it’s safe to say that more people will be using the product than when it used to be expensive. And when there is more people using it, there is bound to be more people that excel at using it. This is why crowdsourcing is possible. The ever-improving technologies empowers the ordinary to do things that only the privileged could do in the past. 

What Does That Say About Talent?

I’m honestly not sure. Now that there are so many people that are proficient in certain crafts, a talent in that area may not seem so “valuable.” But this is all relative. There is always a fixed number of talents at a given time, but the number of people that have discovered their talents differs from time to time. And of course, the artist that has dedicated decades into his or her craft is different from a teenager that is good with Photoshop. The problem is, the new technology allow the quality of their products to be very similar, and this creates trouble for people like Mark Harmel as described in Jeff Howe’s article.

What Is The Future Of Crowdsourcing?

Although the surge of crowdsourcing may have negative financial impact on some old craftsmen, I think it is generally a good thing for the society. For every niche of business, it allows for a global competition. Sure, this means that more people will have less opportunities to seize customers, but such intense competition will raise the quality of products, while lowering the prices. Isn’t that what all the consumers want? I think crowdsourcing is the future, and it is here to stay.