Crowdsourcing For Dummies

David Alan Grier is a writer, teacher and consultant on labour, technology, communication and management. He is Associate Professor at George Washington University, where he teaches International Science and Technology Policy. He is also the 2013 President of the IEEE Computer Society.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2What You’re Not to Read 2Foolish Assumptions 3How This Book Is Organised 4Part I: Understanding Crowdsourcing Basics 4Part II: Looking at the Different Forms of Crowdsourcing 4Part III: Building Skill 4Part IV: Getting All You Can Get from the Crowd 5Part V: The Part of Tens 5Icons Used in This Book 5Where to Go from Here 6Part I: Understanding Crowdsourcing Basics 7Chapter 1: People Power: Getting a Feel for Crowdsourcing 9What is This Thing Called Crowdsourcing? 10Seeing how crowdsourcing works 10Looking at crowdsourcing forms 11Considering Why People Crowdsource 13Introducing three key strengths 13Benefitting from crowdsourcing 14Considering reliability 15Being a Crowdworker 16Becoming a Crowdsourcer 17Chapter 2: Getting to Know the Forms of Crowdsourcing and Crowdmarkets 19Harnessing the Power of Divided Labour 20Keeping the job whole 20Splitting the job into big pieces 21Dividing the job as small as you can 22Letting the crowd divide the job 23Using crowdsourcing to raise money 24Looking at the Rules that Govern How Crowdmarkets Work 25Distinguishing between contract and contest markets 27Understanding collaborative and independent crowdworking 27Combining the two rules 28Chapter 3: Infiltrating the Crowd 29Following the Crowdworker’s Steps 30Taking Lessons from Your Time as a Crowdworker 32Lesson 1: Crowdworkers have names and reputations 32Lesson 2: Crowds need training 33Lesson 3: Crowds want clear instructions 34Lesson 4: Crowds are free to move 34Joining the Staff of Wikipedia 35Registering as a worker 35Choosing a task 36Completing a task 36Submitting a task 36Leaping into the Market with Amazon’s Mechanical Turk 37Registering as a worker 37Selecting the task 38Qualifying and completing the task 39Donning the White Lab Coat: Zooniverse 41Chapter 4: Joining the Crowdforce 43Deciding to Join the Crowdforce 44Considering Your Options 46Looking at microtasks 47Competing for the contest 48Lining up for macrotasks 48Wading into self-organised crowds 49Searching for careers in crowdfunding 50Getting Up and Running on a Macrotask Crowdmarket 51Choosing a market 51Setting yourself up on the market 52Building your portfolio 53Protecting Yourself as a Macrotasker 53Making the Bid in Macrotasking 54The proposal 55The covering letter 55The résumé 57Setting the price 57Learning from the process 58Completing the Macrotask 58Remembering the goal 58Communicate, communicate, communicate 59Working across cultures 59Keeping good records 60Getting an extra recommendation 60Part II: Looking at the Different Forms of Crowdsourcing 61Chapter 5: Creating Crowdcontests 63Reaping the Benefits of Crowdcontests 63Deepening understanding 64Faster, better, cheaper 65Understanding Types of Crowdcontest 66Running a Crowdcontest 67Stating the goal 68Writing the rules 69Publicising the results 72Improving the Crowdcontest 73Splitting the contest 74Building a stronger crowd 75Running a series of contests 76Considering an Example: The Business Logo 76Running a logo contest yourself 76Using a contest service to run the contest for you 77Chapter 6: Raising Money with Crowdfunding 79Knowing the Basics of Crowdfunding 80Seeing crowdfunding as a community activity 80Using the crowdmarket 81Deciding between all-or-nothing funding or partial funding 82Understanding the fee 83Running a Crowdfunding Project 84Writing the budget 84Describing your project 85Setting a deadline for a decision 86Contacting the crowd 87Considering an Example: Creating a Playground 88Building a budget 89Writing a letter 89Setting a timeline 89Getting the crowd 91Accumulating Equity for a Company 91Making a pitch 92Using a platform 93Paying the fees and getting the funds 93Attracting the crowd 95Waiting for results 96Examining the results 96Using non-equity funding 98Chapter 7: Making Use of Macrotasks 99Getting to Grips with Macrotasking 100Seeing the Benefits of Macrotasks 101Identifying Macrotasks 103Thinking process, not organisation 103Identifying independent tasks 105Choosing what’s important 105Finding a fixed deadline 106Requiring special skills 106Preparing the Macrotask 107Naming the manager107Putting together a statement of work for macrotask workers 108Beginning the Macrotask 110Choosing a site 111Posting the project 111Inviting workers to your job 112Choosing a Macrotasker 112Reading the covering letter 113Reviewing the proposal 113Assessing the portfolio 113Checking the reputation 114Judging qualifications 114Interviewing 115Making the selection 116Managing the work 117Protecting intellectual property 118Ending the Macrotask 118Paying the macrotasker and closing the books 118Assessing the experience 119Considering an Example: Creating an App 119Checking that your task is a macrotask 120Writing the statement of work 120Posting the job 121Hiring the macrotasker 122Following the work 122Ending the macrotask 123Chapter 8: Managing with Microtasks 125Identifying Tasks That You Can Microsource 125Knowing How the Microtasking Process Works 127Keeping tasks short and simple 127Creating the basic task 128Finding the basic data 128Writing the instructions 130Pricing the tasks 131Training and validating workers 132Checking the results 132Assembling the work 134Working through an Example with Mechanical Turk 135Creating the task 135Laying out the work 138Starting with a test run 142Reviewing the work and retrieving the results 143Reviewing the prices of your microtasks 144Chapter 9: Combining the Intelligence of Self-Organised Crowds 145Getting to Grips with Self-Organised Crowds 146Determining What You Need the Crowd to Do: Information Gathering and Decision Making 147Gathering information 148Making a decision 150Gathering and deciding 150Designing the Process 151Finding the crowd 152Preparing clear rules 153Motivating the crowd 154Looking at the results 155Organising a Prediction Market 156Finding prediction markets 157Establishing the rules 158Laying down the rules 159Assessing the result 160Part III: Building Skill 161Chapter 10: Engaging the Crowd with Your Project 163Getting Started with Crowdbuilding 164Knowing what motivates the crowd 164Identifying the talent and resources you need 165Adapting your strategy for public and private crowds 165Inviting People to Join Your Crowd 166Seeding the crowd 166Engaging on YouTube 167Granting bragging rights 168Fostering Community Spirit 168Building an online base 169Showing how tasks contribute to the overall goal 170Identifying benefits 170Updating the crowd on progress 171Sustaining the Crowd’s Interest 171Teaching and Training 172Showing the outcome 172Leading the crowd through the tasks 173Engaging on YouTube (again) 173Chapter 11: Instructing the Crowd 175Preparing the Fundamental Message: Writing a Statement of Work 176Structuring carefully 176Making clarity your goal 179Looking at an example statement of work 181Connecting the Kneebone to the Thighbone: Creating Instructions 182Thinking about who does what to what 183Deciding the order of instructions 184Getting Feedback on Your Guidance 185Chapter 12: Crowdsourcing with Social Media 187Knowing the Benefits and the Limitations of Social Media Crowdsourcing 187Building a Private Crowd with Social Media 189Doing Simple Crowdsourcing with Social Media 191Crowdfunding: Fundraising with Facebook 191Macrotasking: Looking for freelancers with LinkedIn 192Crowdcontests: Turning to Twitter 193Microtasking: Translating via a blog 194Turning the Process Upside Down: Using a Crowdsourcing Tool 195Crowdfunding: Going fundraising 195Crowdcontests: Modifying marketing methods 196Microtasking and crowdsurveys: Asking for Opinions on Facebook 197Microtasking: Reading the tweet leaves 198Recognising the Difference between Social Media and Social Research 200Chapter 13: Picking Your Platform 203Getting the Benefits of a Platform 204Raising the crowd 204Knowing what other people know 205Using standardised crowdsourced services 205Getting a helping hand with bookkeeping 207Cutting the risk factor 208Finding the Right Crowd 208Reviewing products 209Checking out individual portfolios 210Looking for the Right Support 210Guiding your project 211Acting as mediator 211Protecting intellectual property 212Deciding How Much You Want to Do 213Reading the Fine Print 214Understanding the cost 214Expecting a refund 215Knowing your responsibilities 215Doing a Little Comparison Shopping 216Checking out the contest providers 217Connecting with the macrotaskers 217Looking at options for microtasking 217Finding the best funders 219Chapter 14: Managing Your Crowd 221Starting with the Right Balance of Skills 221Choosing the Right People 223Managing the Crowd through the Project 224Using a consistent voice 224Keeping in touch 225Tracking milestones 226Giving the crowd space to work 227Respecting Workers’ Rights 228Keeping on Top of the Details: Payroll and Accounting 229Incentivising to Build Quality 230Rewarding best practices 230Taking inspiration from gamification 231Recognising Trouble 232Knowing your options 233Computing the price of failure 234Treating the cause, not the symptom 234Stopping a Project 234Exiting firmly and gracefully 235Protecting your intellectual property 235When Crowds Attack: Dealing with Angry Crowds 236Assessing the situation 236Handling a discontented worker 237Recognising structural problems 238Managing the public relations problem 239Chapter 15: Learning on the Job 241Following the Cycle of Continuous Improvement 242Using the Cycle in Crowdsourcing 244Anticipating trouble 245Keeping an eye out for stumbling blocks 245Reading the signs from the crowd 249Handling the Unexpected 249Accepting bad results 250Stopping, revising and restarting 250Demanding a refund 251Paying and trashing 252Lowering the Stakes with a Pilot Run 253Adapting a Crowdfunding Campaign According to Results 254Changing the means and the message 255Changing your platform 255Changing the goal 255Part IV: Getting All You Can Get from the Crowd 257Chapter 16: Combining Microtasks and Preparing Workflow 259Discerning the Difference between Parallel and Serial Microtasks 260Doing the job all at once: Parallel tasks 261Putting one thing after another: Serial tasks 262Minimising Error 265Appreciating the value of serial tasks 265Duplicating parallel tasks 266Working through an Example: Devising Workflow and Making Decisions in Mechanical Turk 267Starting with parallel tasks 269Advancing to serial tasks 270Combining parallel and serial tasks 270Going for Gold: The Many Benefits of Workflow 271Chapter 17: Crowd Reporting: Using the Crowd to Gather Information and News 273Understanding Why People Use Crowd Reporting 274Sorting Eight Billion Stories 274Helping the crowd focus 275Combining amateurs and experts 275Gathering Information Geographically with Ushahidi 277Rallying the crowd to Ushahidi 279Deploying Ushahidi 279Summarising the results 280Getting the Benefits while Avoiding the Perils of Crowd Reporting 281Understanding the nature of the crowd 282Knowing who’s talking: The crowd effect 284Knowing what the crowd believes: Gresham’s Law 285Chapter 18: Initiating Innovation 287Understanding the Forms of Innovation Crowdsourcing 288Asking for a Little Insight: Classes of Innovation 290Crowdsourcing for novelty 290Crowdsourcing for improvement 291Crowdsourcing for advantage 292Planning for Innovation 292Planning for new ideas 293Bringing the unexpected into your plan with a crowdcontest 294Running with the Right Crowd 299Knowing the different types of crowd 299Matching your plans with the best crowd 300Building New Products and Services with Co-creation 303Generating ideas and defining products 304Designing with the crowd 305Testing, testing, testing 305Giving the product to the world 306Considering an Example: Restructuring a Business with InnoCentive 306Chapter 19: Preparing Your Organisation 309Focusing on Crowdsourcing Elements of Processes 310Planning for the Future 312Navigating a Trial Run 313Building Commitment 314Knowing the Limits 315Bracing for the Unknowns 316Part V: The Part of Tens 317Chapter 20: Following the Future of Crowdsourcing: Ten (Or So) Websites to Watch 319Discovering the State of Crowdsourcing: Crowdsourcing.org 320Reading the Morning News: Daily Crowdsource 321Getting the European Perspective: crowdsourcingblog.de 321Meeting the Leaders: CrowdConf and Crowdopolis 322Tracking Equity Crowdfunding: Crowdcube and Indiegogo 323Monitoring the Growth of the Global Crowd: Clickworker and Trabajo 324Expanding the Scope of Crowdcontests: Kaggle 325Promoting Innovation: AHHHA and Innovation Exchange 326Building New Microtasking Platforms: MobileWorks and Tagasauris 326Macrotasking in the Boardroom: 10EQS 327Chapter 21: Ten Best Practices to Adopt 329Doing Things Step by Step 329Copying What Others Have Done 330Paying Attention to the Price 331Talking with Your Crowd 331Listening to the Crowd 332Using Social Media 332Publicising Accomplishments 333Bringing the Crowd into the Decisions 333Doing the Same Job Two Ways 334Giving a Gift to the Crowd 334Chapter 22: Ten Success Stories 335Creating the SXSW Festival T-shirt 335Developing Smith & Kraus’s Mobile App 336Spending Time with Mr Bentham 337Generating a New Movie Recommendation Method for Netflix 338Building a National Treasure Trove 338Running a Video Campaign for Audio-Technica 339Getting USA Today on Mobile Phones 339Analysing Viruses with Foldit 340Writing Descriptions for Magnum Photos 341Setting up Coffee Joulie with the Crowd’s Backing 342Chapter 23: Ten Crowdsourcing Blunders to Avoid 343Thinking Crowdsourcing Is Easy 343Failing to Review the Work of the Crowd 344Not Knowing Who’s in the Crowd 345Failing to Do a Trial Run 346Putting the Crowdsourcing Ahead of the Job 347Losing Your Reputation 348Hiding from the Crowd 349Assuming That All Crowdworkers Understand 350Having Too Much Faith in the Market 351Index 353

"This is a very good book. I would definitely buy it if you are even slightly interested in crowdsourcing." (Frost Magazine, June 2013)"David Alan Grier's book is both a good starting point for the uninitiated as well as useful reference guide to those who are already part of the crowd." (B2B Marketing.net, May 2013)