Crowdsourcing
Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business
Published on 15. September 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-307-39621-1 (ISBN)
Description
Why does Procter & Gamble repeatedly call on enthusiastic amateurs to solve scientific and technical challenges? How can companies as diverse as iStockphoto and Threadless employ just a handful of people, yet generate millions of dollars in revenue every year?
"Crowdsourcing" is how the power of the many can be leveraged to accomplish feats that were once the responsibility of a specialized few. Jeff Howe reveals that the crowd is more than wise-it's talented, creative, and stunningly productive. It's also a perfect meritocracy, where age, gender, race, education, and job history no longer matter; the quality of the work is all that counts. If you can perform the service, design the product, or solve the problem, you've got the job.
But crowdsourcing has also triggered a dramatic shift in the way work is organized, talent is employed, research is conducted, and products are made and marketed. As the crowd comes to supplant traditional forms of labor, pain and disruption are inevitable, and Howe delves into both the positive and negative consequences of this intriguing phenomenon. Through extensive reporting from the front lines of this workplace revolution, he employs a brilliant array of stories to look at the economic, cultural, business, and political implications of crowdsourcing.
"Crowdsourcing" is how the power of the many can be leveraged to accomplish feats that were once the responsibility of a specialized few. Jeff Howe reveals that the crowd is more than wise-it's talented, creative, and stunningly productive. It's also a perfect meritocracy, where age, gender, race, education, and job history no longer matter; the quality of the work is all that counts. If you can perform the service, design the product, or solve the problem, you've got the job.
But crowdsourcing has also triggered a dramatic shift in the way work is organized, talent is employed, research is conducted, and products are made and marketed. As the crowd comes to supplant traditional forms of labor, pain and disruption are inevitable, and Howe delves into both the positive and negative consequences of this intriguing phenomenon. Through extensive reporting from the front lines of this workplace revolution, he employs a brilliant array of stories to look at the economic, cultural, business, and political implications of crowdsourcing.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Random House USA Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
378 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-307-39621-1 (9780307396211)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2008
Currency
€5.49
Available for download
Person
Jeff Howe was born on March 16, 1963. The son of James and Marjorie Howe, he is the youngest of nine children. Raised catholic in an eastside suburb of Cincinnati, he attended catholic grade and high school. In 1985 he graduated from the University of Cincinnati (Go Bearcats!) with a B.A. in communications.
Upon graduation he moved to Aspen, Colorado where he worked for KSPN radio station. When the ski season ended he moved to Los Angeles for a brief period and then returned to Cincinnati where he went to work for his family's business, a manufacturer and distributor of process heating elements and temperature sensors used in the plastics industry. After a few years he grew restless and left the company to travel and pursue other interests. Eventually settling down, he rejoined the family business, married, fathered two children, and lives with his wife and kids in Cincinnati.
An avid fly fisherman of both freshwater and saltwater game fish, Jeff has a true passion for being connected to the water, and attempts to do so every chance he gets. In addition to his outdoor pursuits, which also includes upland hunting, he plays piano and guitar.
His first novel, Into the Roaring Fork, was completed in 2014 and published in January of 2015. He is busy at work on his second novel, which he hopes to have ready for print by the end of 2015.