I’ve had some passionate conversations about crowdsourcing in the past few days. So many that my voice is horse. I’ve come to a realization:
For Crowdsourcing to live, Spec Work must not be associated.
Just like for Small Business to live, Pyramid Schemes must not be associated.
Imagine brands being attacked with hundreds of posts for using crowdsourcing (proper, ethical crowdsourcing). The rage (yes, rage) isn’t intended for proper crowdsourcing. We will miss a huge opportunity for growth and innovation.
The posting economy is here, and will take over. Forums and pagerank will dominate. If Spec is associated, just throw everything else in the trash. It will get ugly. Today I saw my first ‘they use spec so they must be a nazi’ post. I’m outspoken, but just wow.
Spec Work will be the 10 year black eye of the crowdsourcing industry. The critics are watching now getting ready to peck at the clients. It will be the clients they go after.
I thought Spec Work was a problem of design, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Tags: crowdsourcing, spec work
