Crowdsourcing is about obtaining input or ideas by asking for input from a group of people.
My favorite example of crowdsourcing is Waze, a GPS tool I rely on for driving and getting up-to-date feedback from other “Wazers” to tell me when traffic slows, when I will encounter delays due to a traffic accident, where there is a road hazard, where a policeman is parked on the side of the road perhaps using a radar gun, etc.
Waze, a Google company, also tells me how many miles I have left and the anticipated remaining time to arrive at my destination given what Waze knows about the route ahead. Waze also re-routes me if needed to avoid travel delays.
It’s best to trust Waze–it will occasionally make recommendations that make you shake your head but Waze is right. The brilliance of Waze is its reliance on real-time input via crowdsourcing.
How can you take the metaphor Waze provides to take your company to the next level? Waze’s tagline is “Outsmarting traffic, together.” Does this give you any ideas?
If you don’t consider crowdsourcing, you may find you are breathing your own exhaust which won’t help you accelerate growth.
Photo Courtesy of Alexander Baxevanis on Flickr
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