Crowdsourcing site to discuss Crowdsourcing!

The Daily Crowdsource has launched the first non-commercial forum where people can discuss the issues and news related to crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and open innovation, in three languages – English, German and Portuguese, with plans to roll out four more languages in the coming months.

The goal of the news site, & the new forum, is to grow the crowdsourcing industry through educating the public. Seems the aim is to help people learn about crowdsourcing, discuss the best uses, and share with like-minded individuals – in multiple languages.

The interesting thing is that to showcase the power of crowdsourcing, the construction of the forums and the translation of the site was crowdsourced!! Is that crowdsourcing to define crowdsourcing?

Site here.

Design, Innovation and Crowdsourcing on a National Scale

Great example of the intersection of design, innovation and crowdsourcing on a national scale! Australia’s highest circulating advertising and marketing magazine B&T and crowdsourcing firm DesignBay are launching a competition to find a logo and tagline that could represent Brand Australia. It’s national branding on steroids. See brief here.

The competition is in response to the Australian Government’s recent announcement that it is looking for an agency to develop a new brand identity to embody Australia in the 21st century. The government through the Australian Trade Commission has set aside a budget of $20 million over four years to promote Brand Australia internationally.

The B&T/DesignBay competition, which is open to anyone anywhere in the world, will run over two weeks, with the winners and short-listed entrants announced in B&T magazine in November. The winning entry will receive a $2000 prize, with cash prizes also given to second and third-placed entrants.
A public vote together with the expert opinions of industry professionals and those of B&T’s editorial team and DesignBay staff will decide the winning entry.

Visit http://www.designbay.com/brand-australia-contest and complete the free registration process where a brief can be found. Anyone wishing to view the entries as they come in can do so at the same URL. The competition is open from 4pm on October 13, 2009, closing at 5pm on October 29, 2009.

B&T editor Tim Addington said: “We wanted to cast the net as wide as possible to get a fresh perspective on what a brand identity for Australia might look like in 2009, and which captures the essence of the nation as a great place for living, education, business, manufacturing and investment.”

DesignBay founder Alec Lynch said: “Australia’s brand is important. We want to find the best logo and tagline ideas that Australia’s creative talent and the world can come up with and we’re going to offer them, for free, to the government. We want to give people the opportunity to contribute to Australia’s brand and we want Australia’s brand to be the best it can be.”

Cisco tries new Crowdsourcing Initiative

Having worked for Cisco in the innovaton space, and indeed continuing to do so on a contract basis, I have a soft spot for anything they do. Have a look at their new crowdsourcing initiative. To quote: Pass the Ball is all about the power of ideas, and the power of sharing. People working together to set ideas in motion and make things happen. Your idea really can change the world. Every time you start an idea or rate an idea, Cisco will make a donation to Teachers Without Borders, a global network of teachers bringing education to millions. What’s more, top-rated ideas will receive one year of free WebEx to help bring your idea to life through collaboration with people all over the world.

So go ahead. Pass the ball.

Netflix chooses winner to $1m crowdsourcing competition

Netflix uses crowdsourcing to boost growth. Another excellent example of harnessing the ecosystem for innovation.  Read more.

Connected Innovation at Rockwell Collins

Instead of developing everything from scratch, engineers at Rockwell Collins are realizing the importance of tapping into the talents of those outside of our own company. Read More.