Etsy and the crowdsourcing phenomenon

In this video, Wired Biz author Jeff Howe discusses how Etsy - an online marketplace selling handmade goods from more than 100,000 crafty folks from all over the world - has used the web and crowdsourcing to channel creativity & passion and turn it into profits.

Crowdsourcing as defined by Wikipedia: the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people or community in the form of an open call.

It is a term that has been thrown around a lot in the past couple of years because it is so obviously shaping the way we do business, thanks to Web 2.0. Wikipedia, itself is a prime example of crowdsourcing, as are the "recommended" items in your Amazon and Netflix accounts, even search engines use the power of the crowd to determine the relevance of a particular site. We see crowdsourcing as the main business model for companies like RYZ which lets consumers design the sneakers and vote on the best designs which are then produced and sold on their website with a kick-back to designer. We also see crowdsourcing used as a way for companies to connect with their customers; like the contest hosted by Heinz for a user-generated commercial.

The ultimate goal obviously is to translate all of the consumer creation & involvement into profits; some companies are inevitably more successful than others, but if crowdsourcing allows me to buy awesome things like these
Cute little crocheted cupcakes, you won't hear any complaints from me.