Part four of a five part guest posts series,“Unleashing Crowd Power”, by Michal Hudecek.
Visualization on the Motivation Factors
Motivation wheel concept as a framework for attracting contributors to your crowdsourcing projects has been described in the previous article. We will use it to show you how famous crowdsourcing projects gained their contributors.
A proper scientific measurement of the crowd motives in existing crowdsourcing projects has not been performed yet. However, here are some expert estimates of how the Motivation Wheel probably looks like for famous web sites.
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia attracts contributors mainly thanks to two factors – pride and impact. By writing an article and posting it on Wikipedia you can show you understand the topic and you are an expert in this field. Secondly, Wikipedia vision of free knowledge is something many people find attractive to follow.
2. Prizes.org
A recent Google acquisition, Prizes.org, is a platform for crowdsourcing small tasks (such a logo design or a quick piece of advice) via financially rewarded contests. Apart from earning money, the participants can show their talent via customized profile page.
3. Fold It
Fold It is a computer game enabling players to contribute to important scientific research via solving 3D puzzles. They are motivating contributors to help discover cures for HIV/AIDS or cancer by providing them with a fun way to participate on a project with a big positive impact.
4. IdeasWatch
IdeasWatch is a platform for sharing startup ideas and forming teams around them in order to start a business. The main reason why young entrepreneurs share their ideas and discuss with others is to find like-minded people they would love to start a business with. The motivation factors are therefore pride and relationships.
The last article in the series will teach you how to use Motivation wheel during concept design phase of your crowdsourcing project.