When times get tough, innovative solutions are born, and in these tough economic times, unleashing the power of people becomes a necessity. Case in point: crowdsourcing.
The concept has been recognised and accepted considerably in more developed countries, but greater recognition is required at home in Pakistan. As per the crowdsourcing model, a particular job is shared by a large number of people, hence giving it the name crowdsourcing.
In Pakistan, people who can relate to having worked on this model are primarily graphic designers, as many international web and logo designing companies outsource the creation of websites, logos, or other graphic design materials to a large number of people, usually from India and Pakistan.
Designs from various designers are invited, and the ones that meet a clients requirement are picked.
"The US already has over 42 million (and growing) freelancers ranging from lawyers, accountants, childcare workers, photographers, graphic designers and other specialized professions," said an article in the Forbes published earlier this month.
Today, workforce mobility and flexible working conditions are the norm, fast replacing traditional notions of years of work at the same company in a 9-to-5 schedule. Freelance work and virtual offices are gaining credence and are fast becoming the preferred mode of work for many.
Where clients benefit from a wide array of work offers to choose from, task bidders benefit from having a chance at getting their work acknowledged and also learning from a competitive experience.
In Pakistan, besides graphic designing, the model can be applied in various ways as means of combating unemployment in the country to some extent. For example, a virtual business portal for a particular service - carpentering, for example - can be created where people can post the jobs they need to get done, and others looking for work can post their bids.
The closest one can think of a crowdsourced model in Pakistan is Rozee.pk, where a particular job opening is crowdsourced to many potential candidates. But even that is a far-fetched example as individual tasks are usually crowdsourced to derive the maximum benefit out of this business model.
Though the model is currently more applicable for services-based work, such as freelance writing or graphic designing, taking it a step ahead into manufacturing can be quite useful as well. For example, crowdsourcing the manufacturing of a large number of a certain product to small factories can be one way.
If developed, this can be a good potential employment-generator for the economy. However, gaining acceptability for this in manufacturing might take some time.
However, effective implementation could mean that soon, many products around the world will be crowdsourced; from crowdsourcing the design and concept, to manufacturing and later packaging and promotion.
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