Instituting crowdsourcing seems fraught with dramatic irony. Can two terms with radically different roots convey any meaning? Can you organize or align crowds? Can you herd cats?
Here is how the terms are described in Wikipedia:
Institute: The word comes from the Latin word institutum meaning facility or habit; from instituere meaning build, create, raise or educate.
Crowdsourcing: the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to an undefined, large group of people or community (a “crowd”), through an open call … Jeff Howe, one of the first authors to employ the term, established that the concept of crowdsourcing depends essentially on the fact that because it is an open call to an undefined group of people, it gathers those who are most fit to perform tasks, solve complex problems and contribute with the most relevant and fresh ideas.
It’s easy to organize a business or army where participants are paid or threatened to follow instructions. Not so with volunteers, staff or crowds. The best you can hope is to identify and echo the cause relevant to your community, supply the tools and means, (organize – or self organize), then get out of the way. Read how to organize a revolution (or snow fight).
That’s the challenge CharityMatrix is designed to solve, by allowing the Community Manager to equip, coach, inspire (enthusiasm), fix (breakdowns) and create a team spirit — leading without authority.
