And that’s interesting because he’s the one who coined the word crowdsourcing in the first place. In Wired magazine two years ago, he described how companies are harnessing big groups of people, like customers or the broader Internet-using public, to come up with marketing campaigns, solve tough R&D problems, even gin up ideas for new products. Wikipedia is crowdsourcing. So is iStockphoto, where anyone—amateur photographer or professional—can upload pictures to sell to publications.
It’s akin to those pervasive twin concepts collective intelligence and wisdom of crowds, but less of an intellectual framework and more of an empirical description of how economic output is created, and money made, by tapping the crowd.
Now, like all great journalists, Howe has turned the concept into a book. He stopped by to chat, and I grabbed a little video. (Thanks, Caitlin, for editing.)
Barbara!