Leveraging the Collective Intelligence and Effort of Digital Crowds

October 31, 2015

Read The Full Prompt

In this module we have examined how firms can leverage digital technologies to harness the power of collective intelligence from the crowds to tackle a range of problems such as innovation problems and funding startups. For this assignment you have three options:

1 – Pick one industry where no firms have leveraged crowds, and come up with a crowd-based business model that may potentially transform the industry. Describe how you plan to create and capture value. Explain why the crowd will participate, and why your crowd-based model is better than the current model employed by the incumbents.

2 – Describe a company that is using crowds (external or internal) in an innovative manner. Describe how they incentivize participation and manage the crowd. What are the challenges? Describe how value creation and value capture occur, and the growth potential of this business.

3 – Companies often struggle with crowds as well. Describe failed crowdsourcing efforts and explain how and why the company failed. Given what you have learned in the course, what would you do differently?

Create an approximately 500-750 word post to make your contribution. Please create appropriate tags for your post. Please also respond to and comment on three other posts per module. Feel free to use graphics, data, videos and links to other sites to corroborate your points.

Please prepare a two minute pitch about your blog entry before the class.

Submitted (136)

StackOverflow : Q&A site for programmers
Sabina
Last modified on November 3, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Stack Overflow (SO) is a question and answer site for professional and enthusiast programmers.  It is part of the Stack Exchange community, which is network of question and answer sites. The site has over 40 million monthly unique users, of [...]
Yelp is Failing its Customers – Rating Systems and the Challenge of Discovery
Austin
Last modified on November 3, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Yelp ratings cluster almost entirely between 3.5-4.5 stars and tend to slow down the discovery process. This leaves the door open for more user-friendly alternatives and new curated services.
Lego Ideas: a leading crowdsourcing platform in the Toy Industry
AK
Posted on November 1, 2015 at 1:11 am
LEGO Ideas shows how the toy industry can embrace crowdsourcing platform
Is Crowdsourcing the Future Of Film? Not really
Emilie Valentova
Last modified on November 3, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Hollywood has gone bankrupt several times. Marvel in 1996. MGM in 2010. Relativity Media in 2015. Film technology (cameras, software) gets cheaper and more easily accessible. Great pre-conditions for digital crowds to disrupt the industry. Hold your horses, the chances [...]
How the Crowd Saved LEGO
David
Last modified on November 3, 2015 at 3:00 pm
LEGO soon discovered that their incredible fan base not only contributes to their brand reputation, but could also be used in a very different way: Through crowdsourcing LEGO gets new product ideas directly from children's (and adult's) rooms, where millions [...]
Wikpedia – can the pioneer stay relevant?
FB
Posted on November 1, 2015 at 7:40 am
Wikipedia pioneered collective intelligence online over a decade ago. However, in a changing online world, many question the relevance of Wikipedia going forward.
Glassdoor is leveraging crowds to better inform job-seekers
Noam
Posted on October 28, 2015 at 11:06 pm
Since it was founded in 2008, Glassdoor has been leveraging crowd-sourcing to create a vast database of job positions, salaries, interview processes, companies' culture, and more.
Pandering to Beauty Junkies
Atima Lui
Last modified on October 31, 2015 at 6:41 pm
How Julep uses its IdeaLab Crowd in Product Innovation
Is HourlyNerd disrupting the consulting industry the way Uber changed the taxi world?
Julie
Posted on October 24, 2015 at 9:04 pm
What started as a way for MBAs to make a little extra cash has evolved into an elite freelancing marketplace with over 10,000 consultants or “nerds” bidding on projects for the likes of GE, Microsoft, and Au Bon Pain, among [...]
Blue M&Ms: Using Crowdsourcing to Re-invigorate a Brand
hbs2016
Posted on November 1, 2015 at 8:22 pm
How M&Ms used the crowd to reinvigorate its brand through simple, tangible product change
TripAdvisor and the crowds
Esty
Last modified on October 22, 2015 at 10:51 pm
TripAdvisor utilizes having genuine information about the hotels to bring more readers to the site which in turn, write their reviews as well and the platform grows attracting more hotels to partner with TripAdvisor. Indirect and direct network effects come [...]
Wikipedia – Who is the authority for the Truth?
Mor Sidi
Last modified on November 3, 2015 at 3:00 pm
How can it be that anyone can write, and everyone believes it?
Crowdsourcing your Day
DB
Last modified on November 1, 2015 at 5:58 pm
TaskRabbit is a two-sided crowdsourced marketplace model that connects TaskPosters, people who need help completing tasks to Taskers, people who are willing to complete the tasks. How it Works: TaskPoster posts a job and is able to view 3 contractors [...]
White House Petitions: “We the People” gone wrong
B_Alvy
Posted on October 31, 2015 at 1:21 pm
The White House petition platform has been largely ineffective in raising legitimate issues and generates significantly more attention for outlandish requests, such as the creation of a Death Star.
Wisdom of Crowds for Rare Diseases: CrowdMed
RFD123
Posted on October 27, 2015 at 1:22 am
A new startup, CrowdMed, seeks to bring the wisdom of crowds to the patient by helping to solve the world’s most difficult, rare, and complex chronic medical cases through online communication, collaboration, and brainstorming.
Finding the Next Unicorn with Product Hunt
David
Last modified on October 31, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Product Hunt is an upvote-based site, similar to Reddit, where community members submit and vote for their favorite new or unknown products, primarily focused on the tech app space.  The list is recreated each day, generating a live-stream of the most [...]
Pebble Smartwatch : The Serial Crowdfunded Superstar
MaskOfZorro
Posted on October 31, 2015 at 11:55 am
Pebble is one of the most successful crowdfunded startups. Its Kickstarter campaign provided a host of benefits other than funding. It is for this reason that Pebble returned to Kickstarter for its sequel product, Pebble Time.
Crowdfunding in Agriculture: Feeding the World
Charles
Posted on October 29, 2015 at 1:28 pm
How crowdfunding in agriculture could unlock arable land, improve the wealth of small farmers in emerging markets and deliver strong returns to common people as investors.
Snapchat: Leveraging the Crowd for Location- and Event-Based Content
ctm
Last modified on November 1, 2015 at 12:06 am
Snapchat's innovative "Live Story" feature has made a huge step in solving a problem that to date has plagued other social media apps: tons of users post pictures and videos that in theory would have broad public appeal, yet no [...]
Anheuser-Busch: Innovating Beer Through Crowd Sourcing
Drew O.
Last modified on October 30, 2015 at 12:42 pm
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is the world’s largest brewer and commands approximately 25% market share of global beer consumption. AB InBev employs over 150,000 people across the globe and has a portfolio of 200 brands (primarily beer). Despite its large [...]
Can crowdfunding cure cancer?
Yannis
Last modified on October 30, 2015 at 5:10 pm
Despite remarkable scientific progress in recent decades, current funding models for projects in early-stage drug development and climate change have failed. These projects tend to be expensive, risky, and lengthy. Andrew Lo and his colleagues at MIT suggest that crowdfunding [...]
Who’s Down to Help Google Categorize How You Spend Your Time Offline?
NoSocks
Last modified on October 31, 2015 at 10:32 pm
"Who's Down", Google's new app aimed at college campuses wants to know what you're looking to do... where... and with whom.
Funding Rush Hour 4: Crowdfunding Non-Blockbuster Movie Sequels
JG
Last modified on October 27, 2015 at 6:33 pm
Crowdfunding non-blockbuster movie sequels would reduce the cost and risk to studios and capture the willingness to pay of fans eager to see the sequel to a movie they already loved.
My Starbucks Idea: Crowdsourcing for Customer Satisfaction and Innovation
HBStudent2016
Last modified on October 31, 2015 at 11:34 am
Ever wish your local Starbucks would carry a different flavor iced coffee? No idea who to tell? Easy, log on to My Starbucks Idea and share your idea.
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