I was very unfamiliar with crowdsourcing -- that is until I met Epirot Ludvik Nekaj, CEO and Founder of Ludvik+Partners. I first met Epi through a mutual friend -- Ted Rubin. I remember Ted telling me that Epirot is someone I need to know and quickly. Unfortunately, it took me a few weeks but I was finally able to get an interview with Epirot.
I met Epirot at the Ludvik+Partners headquarters, in NYC. He explained that Ludvik+Partners are a marketing company that utilizes crowdsourcing principles. The company basically curates projects and then pairs skill sets with the project's desired goals and objectives. These skill sets come from a diverse member network of professionals which are known as The Crowd.
So instead of having one expert work on solving the problem -- you now have a crowd of experts working on solving the problem. Why is this such a benefit? Because, one of the primary advantages of crowdsourcing is that the organization now has access to a wider range of expertise that would be unavailable to it otherwise.
"Crowdsourcing is key to the future of our organizations as technology is giving more and more power and capacity for people to pro-actively develop new ideas and structures for businesses. We are confident that Crowdsourcing is the only sustainable approach to innovation" - Epirot Ludvik Nekaj, CEO and Founder
Epirot is terribly passionate about crowdsourcing and sees the potential for not only the marketing space but for technology, government, citizen journalism, fashion, film and photography. Unfortunately, Epirot has also seen situations where crowdsourcing has not been used effectively and has wasted precious resources. He wants to educate business owners and executives on a set of best practices for implementing a crowdsourcing strategy.
So a team from Ludvik+Partners and an international board of advisers -- such as Ted Rubin, Shelley Kuipers and Simon Mainwaring -- have gotten together to produce the first ever Crowdsourcing Week Asia 2013. The hopes are that the experts gathered here can educate business owners and executives so they can then replicate crowdsourcing, effectively, in their work environments.
I can certainly see the benefits of crowdsourcing. I also believe that crowdsourcing is in part fed by the social web and telecommuting. I mean, if you worked from home -- what is stopping you from taking on a few of these crowdsourcing gigs? This could also be a concern for some business owners and one I hope that Ludvik+Partners with the international board of advisers addresses.
If you wish to find out more about crowdsourcing just head-on over to Crowdsourcing Week Asia 2013.