Crowdsourcing, for those of you who may not know, is one of the great democratizing undertakings available in this era of interconnectedness. It provides means to those who might otherwise not have been able to gain them, by providing a platform for communication and participation in a way that is non-hierarchical. Now, more than ever, people are able to support projects that resonate with who they are rather than making-do with mass-produced, overly-marketed projects produced by some bloated corporation with the money and influence to hijack the attention of thousands. Crowdsourcing returns to the individual the power to choose what it is they wish the world to look like. It’s a pretty magical thing.
And compared to the alternative, it seems especially so.
One of the things Apple strongman Steve Jobs was famous for saying was, “people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” His approach to business was obsessive, controlling, and hierarchical to the extreme. He made dictates and consumers had to take it or leave it. Their opinions didn’t matter to him. In fact, he was so dismissive of his customers that he eschewed market research and simply did what he wanted to do. Sure, under his direction Apple created a number of innovative products and grew more powerful and influential, but his leadership also led to a number of costly flops, strained relationships between investors, employees, and customers, and developed a culture of secrecy and control that Apple maintains to this day.
I would argue Jobs’ domineering style left a net negative on the world as a whole. You may enjoy that iPhone in your pocket, but you had no stake or interest in its production… and at what cost did it come to you? Who was steamrolled in the process? What alternatives were never presented to you because they were drowned out by a more powerful voice? What externalized costs did the company dump on taxpayers so they could churn out a device as cheaply as possible?
Upon reflection, our world can begin to seem like a resurgent form of feudalism, with a handful of powerful corporations controlling a dwindling number of resources and pacifying the masses with trinkets and baubles while profiting off their labor.
This is why crowdsourcing is such a great thing. It replaces the traditional vertical hierarchy of corporate control with a flattened, democratized form of production and progress. By design it is participatory. By necessity, it requires people to add their voice and opinion. In a world in which many question whether their vote actually matters, the crowdsourcing phenomenon provides a beacon of light. Its foundation is built upon the premise that yes, in fact, everybody’s vote matters. This fact is also why traditionally styled hierarchical organizations were, from the beginning, resistant and skeptical of the very idea of crowdsourcing — it upends the power structure they depend on for business-as-usual.
In this interconnected age, it’s time for people from all walks of life to insist upon more choice, more involvement, more personal investment and stake in the things that make up their world. It’s time to insist upon a change to the business-as-usual model.
And an easy way to begin is to add your voice to the mix. A community is out there waiting for you.
Stay Creative.