L’Oreal, Sony and Toyota have all embraced the preeminence of crowdsourcing, using it to help them generate new ideas for ad campaigns. Mountain Dew has been inviting soft drink enthusiasts to help “shape the flavor, colour, name, logo, and design of the next Mountain Dew” through its crowdsourcing tool Dewmocracy.  And in one novel project, a 23-year-old man is using crowdsourcing to navigate the dating world by attempting to go on 30 dates in 30 days,  while taking cues from Twitter and Facebook as to how to proceed on each (http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/dating-brian/).

It looks as though crowdsourcing is here to stay – here are 5 reasons why:

1. It grants access to a diverse range of ideas without a lot of investment – The technology makes it possible to unite large numbers of people who will share several ideas at a relatively stable cost. Time spent collecting data through formal focus groups or market research can also be heavily reduced by using this tool as a creative alternative.
2. Messaging stands a greater chance of being relevant and authentic – Since the people engaged in the process will likely have a stake in the outcome, the input generated by the community will resonate with the voice of the end user. Also through the selection of people and breadth of ideas, this tool increases the odds of finding something of value.
3. Crowdsourcing tools are engaging – Whether a person submits her/his own content and ideas or chooses to rate others’ ideas, they are an integral part of the creative process.
4. It lowers the risk of new product and service introductions – The risks associated with uncertain marketplace demand for a new product / service can be evaluated by inviting participants to comment on what they think should be included.
5. It builds relationships – Like many social networking tools, crowdsourcing is ultimately a means of connecting with people with similar interests, exchanging ideas, and cultivating lifelong bonds.

-Cassandra Tavares

If you pay attention to traditional public opinion polls, it’s easy to get depressed about the public’s capacity to play a productive role in its own governance.  After all, people just want lower taxes and better services, right?

Wrong.

Surveys only scratch the surface and don’t give people the space to really think about a tough problem or issue facing their community.  They only gather knee-jerk or “top of mind” responses.

In stark contrast, a recent public dialogue – the “Hard Times, Hard Choices” project from Michigan – shows the power of deliberation to solve tough problems.   This was no survey.

The project brought together a representative sample of over 300 people from across Michigan to recommend directions for the state’s economy and budget.  The organizers used a Deliberative Polling approach: the process starts and ends with a poll about key questions, but the interesting part is what happens between these.  Participants learn about the issues through balanced briefings, and then think through options in small groups.   By comparing people’s opinions in the before and after polls, organizers can literally measure deliberation or informed participation.

Here are a few of the results that I found interesting.  You can read the full report here.

People actually recommended increasing their taxes.  By the end of public deliberations, support for increasing income tax had gone up from 27% to 45%.  Similarly, support or raising sales taxes rose from 37% to 51%.

People also recommended decreasing business taxes.  At the end of the process, support for cutting business taxes rose from 40% to 67%.  They believed it would stimulate businesses and create jobs.

You can actually see footage from “Hard Times, Hard Choices” here.  It’s from a PBS documentary on the project.

- Ellis Westwood -