‘Crowdsourcing’ in my opinion is just a fancy netword for ‘auction’…as in international auction. Ok, Outsourcing. There, I said it. At first read, my response was to shake my head and mentally mutter “bottomfeeders…” in my head. But as often happens, I checked myself as to why that was my reaction. I’ve held an acct at Odesk (though haven’t done anything with it) for over a year, and have heard of 99Designs from various design outlets – though mostly in a negative light. The attitude among some is that crowdsourcing and design ‘competitions’ devalue the serious designer’s work and should not be engaged or encouraged. I admit that some design competitions are merely scams whose organizers’ intent is solely to steal ideas for free. But the general complaint tends to be that it’s impossible to compete with freelancers in India or the Philippines who charge $3/hr, while at the same time deriding their work as 3rd rate or less. As a startup, I wasn’t so sure I agreed at first. But apparently, the sentiments of negativity I had been reading have subliminally crept in.
So rather than complain about having to compete in a global web-based economy, I decided to take a 2nd look at 99Designs and checked out some designer profiles and portfolios. I was mostly impressed, especially with the pricing structure and value of projects being awarded. So much so that I decided to participate – and compete. It’s either adapt, survive, and thrive…or remain rigid and become extinct. Here’s an excerpt and link to the article:
Crowdsourcing is a growing and cost-effective way for small- and medium-size businesses (SMBs) to take advantage of a global talent pool of freelancers for services that range from accounting to website design. The concept is particularly gaining traction with business owners looking for ways to source graphic design quickly and affordably, a major pain point for many SMBs. And increasingly, they’re turning to the global marketplace for the answer.