Crowdsourcing

         Crowdsourcing is a sourcing model that uses individuals or organizations to generate interaction and engagement typically on the internet. The use of social media allows companies to create an outsource of information, in which online audiences can provide their opinions or just simply use it for resource. A perfect example of crowdsourcing is Wikipedia. The idea behind Wikipedia was created with the purpose of having an online encyclopedia that anyone could contribute too. Of course, there are some accuracy issues that arise now and again, but this can be managed through editors. Crowdsourcing allows people from all over the world to connect and collaborate on projects using fast and easy communication via the internet. 

What is one way to draw a crowd? Give them the chance to win instant cash. This power of crowdsourcing marketing is being used by HQ Trivia, a new app that has gone viral since August. The app broadcasts a 15 minute show every day at 3pm and 9pm where contestants have to correctly answer 12 multiple choice questions in order to win the cash prize jackpot. The prize money varies, but the app has garnered attention through its addictive gameplay. Since there are hundreds of thousands of people playing the game every broadcast, the prize money is split between all the winners, that is, if you can get to the 12th question. Here is what the game screen looks like:

        At first, the developers of HQ Trivia created Hype, which is a live streaming service that is similar to Facebook and Instagram’s going live feature. The app was generally successful, following in the footsteps of Vine, another popular social media app that was recently discontinued. Hype created a groundswell that HQ Trivia marketed off of. According to the text, the groundswell is, “a social trend in which people use technologies to get things they need from each other rather than from traditional institutions like corporations” (9). The result is an app that introduced a new and dynamic way of crowdsourcing attention. 

Crowdsourcing is the process of connecting large groups of people via the internet who are tapped for their knowledge, expertise, time, or resources. It’s an extremely useful strategy to constitute engagement with your groundswell. Once you are able to stabilize and manage the groundswell with loyalty and trust, there is a good chance it will be easier to introduce a new trivia game or other app that can be used with the internet. Anyone can use crowdsourcing. In a sense, it is a way of solving problems and producing things by connecting online with people that you otherwise wouldn’t know.