Crowdsourcing. Its one controversial - yet increasingly popular - topic. From marketing agencies to scientific research, many industries are taking a hard look at how crowdsourcing may be a solution for problems too big for one person or even one company to solve.

But why is crowdsourcing catching onand how will it affect the future?

The specific solution varies by industry, but for most crowdsourcing is a low cost way to acquire a greater (in quantityand hopefully in quality) solution set to a defined problem. In other words, crowdsourcing is fulfilling an unmet need for many industriesthe need to attain more for less. But what about the flip side of crowdsourcing? What about the consumers?

Without willing participants, crowdsourcing simply doesnt work. If people are unwilling to participate then theres no content. And that chance is a big gamble. So what makes people want to contribute their time and effort?

A cause. Beyond cash (see Chicago based CrowdSpring for an example of how some people make a living from the flip side of crowdsourcing) , most people find that either helping others or contributing to a cause is a worthwhile investmenta good reason to be part of the crowd.

Take a look at the Aha mobile app, for instance. Sure, Aha guides users via GPS, allows users to customize food alerts on the travel path and has even been designed with a 65MPH-safe interface. But its the community aspect that sets it apart. Aha is a driver to driver network that connects drivers to each other and to relevant information from the internet. For instance, if a user is motoring down a busy interstate and traffic suddenly slows due to an accident, that user can record a voice memo alerting fellow drivers traveling (or planning to travel) down the same roadway. After all, news does travel faster via networks as proved by events like the Hudson River plane crash in January of 2009the public was notified via Twitter first, not by mainstream mediaan example of self-initiated, crowdsourced news reporting.

And speaking of networks, Facebook has also integrated crowdsourcing to solve content and policy problemsThe Facebook Community Council. This council is a crowdsourced tagging application open to only select members. And once invited, the user can tag content that has been pulled for review with one of 8 tagsSpam, Not English, Skip, Nudity, Drugs, Attacking, and Violence. In effect, Facebook users are now patrolling the network for free in an attempt to keep up with content created and shared by its 350 million users.

The most innovative companies of the near future will replace less efficient and commoditized processes with crowdsourcing to bring tangible value to stakeholders and consumers through increased operating efficiency and higher quality products, services, and business models.

What areas of your industry could benefit from crowdsourcing, and how will it affect you?

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