Crowdsourcing has its origins in the early 21st century. Wrong! You don’t believe it? We did extensive research regarding the history of crowdsourcing and discovered some truly fascinating information spanning centuries, which we want to share with you. The crowdsourcing history reveals that this concept has been driving innovation and problem-solving far longer than most people realize.
When we examine the history of crowdsourcing, we discover a practice that extends far beyond the digital age. While the term “crowdsourcing” was only coined in 2006 by journalist Jeff Howe, the fundamental concept of harnessing collective / swarm intelligence has been utilized for centuries to solve complex problems and drive innovation.
The earliest examples of crowdsourcing-like practices can be traced back to ancient civilizations. In ancient Babylonia, rulers would often seek solutions to engineering and agricultural challenges by consulting with their subjects and offering rewards for innovative solutions. This demonstrates that the core principle of leveraging crowd wisdom has deep historical roots.
The maritime powers of Europe faced a critical problem: determining longitude at sea. Spain initiated this challenge in 1567, followed by the Netherlands shortly after, both offering substantial rewards for anyone who could solve this navigation puzzle. These early contests established a precedent for what would become one of the most famous examples in crowdsourcing history.
The crowdsourcing history reached a significant milestone in 1714 when the British government invited tenders for the “Longitude Prize.” This prize was endowed with £20,000 (equivalent to approximately £3 million today) and was to be awarded to someone who could develop a reliable method of calculating the longitude of a vessel while at sea. This challenge exemplifies how governments recognized that breakthrough solutions could come from unexpected sources.
In 1783, the French king Louis XVI awarded a prize for the production of pure soda (sodium carbonate), further demonstrating how crowdsourcing approaches were being used to address industrial challenges across Europe.
Finding solutions to both problems was not assigned to established experts; instead, the crowd was given the task. The Longitude Prize went to John Harrison, a clockmaker who calculated longitude using extremely accurate timepieces. The soda problem was solved by Nicolas Leblanc, showcasing how diverse expertise could emerge from unexpected quarters.
In the 19th century, several extremely smart people called for a re-examination of the entire English language. This was the birth of the Oxford English Dictionary – though not quite the birth, as they were not yet ready to undertake such a massive project. Individuals could not carry out a project of this magnitude alone.
In 1879, philosopher James Murray made a spontaneous decision that would change crowdsourcing history forever. He asked his English-speaking readers to send him references to everyday and unusual words. His request met with an enormous positive response, making the Oxford English Dictionary the first major project to successfully outsource intellectual work to a crowd – crowdsourcing in its truest sense.
The early 1900s saw creative applications of crowdsourcing principles across various industries:
However, crowdsourcing only experienced a true boom with the development of Web 2.0 – the Internet form that permitted interaction between users and fundamentally transformed how crowds could collaborate.
Before examining the digital transformation of crowdsourcing history, it’s important to understand the theoretical foundation laid by James Surowiecki in his influential 2004 book “The Wisdom of Crowds“. Surowiecki’s central thesis was that decisions made by large, diverse groups of people are intellectually superior to those made by isolated individuals, regardless of their expertise. This book provided the intellectual framework that would justify and accelerate crowdsourcing adoption in the digital age.
One of the first and most successful crowdsourcing projects of Web 2.0 was the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, but its origins trace back to earlier failed attempts that help illustrate the evolution of digital crowdsourcing.
Wikipedia’s conceptual roots can be traced to Internet pioneer Rick Gates, who presented the idea of an encyclopedia in the World Wide Web to a Usenet newsgroup in 1993. However, the Interpedia project never progressed beyond the planning stage. In 1999, inspired by Richard Stallman, GNUPedia also failed to gain traction.
The breakthrough came through iteration and learning from failure.
Nupedia logo (source: Wikipedia)
Nupedia was founded in March 2000 as an attempt by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger to create an English-language Internet encyclopedia. However, article creation followed traditional academic processes: authors applied, texts underwent peer review, and there was a chief editor overseeing everything.
The pivotal moment in crowdsourcing history came when Sanger and Wales discovered the Wiki system in late 2000 and early 2001. This system allowed users not only to read websites but also to make changes directly in the browser – a revolutionary concept at the time.
“On January 15, 2001, Nupedia’s Wiki was launched on its own domain at wikipedia.com. This is considered the birth of Wikipedia.”
“Wikipedia”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia, 26.03.2018.
Current Wikipedia logo (source: Wikipedia)
Originally launched by Sanger as a “fun side-project,” the crowdsourcing project soon became the most important reference work for western culture and a model for collaborative knowledge creation.
The term “crowdsourcing” was officially coined by journalist Jeff Howe in 2006. He wrote the following in the June 2006 issue of the magazine “Wired”:
“Technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals. Hobbyists, part-timers, and dabblers suddenly have a market for their efforts, as smart companies in industries as disparate as pharmaceuticals and television discover ways to tap the latent talent of the crowd. The labour isn’t always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.”
This definition marked a crucial point in crowdsourcing history, providing a clear framework for understanding how technology was democratizing innovation and problem-solving.
The modern history of crowdsourcing became closely intertwined with the concept of “open innovation,” introduced around the same time. This business philosophy postulated that organizations should combine both internal and external sources of knowledge and expertise to advance new product and technology development. Crowdsourcing emerged as a practical tool for implementing open innovation strategies.
The appreciation of crowdsourcing’s value was accelerated by the emergence of specialized commercial platforms:
Several landmark campaigns demonstrated crowdsourcing’s potential:
Crowdsourcing history expanded into governmental applications:
Not all crowdsourcing initiatives succeeded, providing valuable lessons for the field’s development:
Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP invited public submissions for sealing the ruptured well and cleaning up the spill. Despite 123,000 participants from over 100 countries submitting 43,000 suggestions, BP officials stated that none proved useful for plugging the leak. This highlighted the importance of proper problem formulation and crowd selection in crowdsourcing initiatives.
Experience showed that successful crowdsourcing required careful attention to:
Recent developments have seen the integration of AI with crowdsourcing platforms, creating hybrid models that combine human creativity with machine processing power. Platforms like HeroX have partnered with AI companies to create more sophisticated matching and evaluation systems.
Modern crowdsourcing has evolved into highly specialized applications:
Crowdsourcing has become organically incorporated into the “gig economy,” providing independent workers with task-based and project-based income opportunities as alternatives to traditional employment structures.
Today’s crowdsourcing landscape encompasses six main categories:
The financial advantages evident throughout crowdsourcing history remain compelling. Projects like the Oxford English Dictionary would require enormous resources without crowd participation – hiring authors, renting workspaces, and providing infrastructure. Crowdsourcing significantly reduces these costs while often achieving superior results.
Historical examples consistently demonstrate time-saving benefits. A 2009 Oxford University Galaxy Zoo project exemplifies this: with public help, galaxy mapping was completed in four months versus the two years it would have taken internally.
The more people working on a project, the larger the accumulated knowledge and experience. When properly channeled, this creates powerful problem-solving capabilities that exceed what individual experts can achieve.
Throughout crowdsourcing history, breakthrough solutions often came from outside traditional expert circles. “New brooms sweep clean” because they’re not constrained by conventional thinking patterns.
Crowdsourcing provides immediate feedback about market acceptance and target audience preferences, combining solution development with market validation.
Modern crowdsourcing transforms traditional work relationships. Consumers become “prosumers,” actively contributing to product development rather than passively accepting offerings. This shift represents a fundamental change in how businesses engage with their markets.
Digital platforms enable work processes that don’t require central management. Crowds can form networks and organize processes internally, representing a significant departure from traditional hierarchical structures.
Crowd feedback quickly identifies poor products and services while providing improvement suggestions. This increases transparency between companies and consumers, generally improving business practices.
Mobile technology and cloud services enable extreme work mobility. People increasingly complete tasks from home or while traveling, blurring traditional boundaries between work and personal life. The gaming industry exemplifies this trend, with players paying for beta versions and providing development feedback.
Crowdsourcing enables experts to focus on their specific expertise areas. An Excel specialist can seek Excel-related tasks rather than handling diverse office duties. This specialization benefits both workers and employers through increased efficiency and quality.
As we continue writing crowdsourcing history, several trends appear likely to shape its future:
The long view of crowdsourcing history reveals several consistent principles:
The development of crowdsourcing throughout history shows a direct connection to our working and living environment. From ancient Babylonian consultations to modern AI-enhanced platforms, the core principle remains constant: collective intelligence often surpasses individual expertise.
Companies and individuals continue benefiting from this evolution in numerous ways. The growth trajectory of crowdsourcing shows no signs of slowing. As we move forward, we’re eager to learn how technological and social developments will continue influencing crowdsourcing, and what new applications will emerge.
The history of crowdsourcing demonstrates that this approach to problem-solving isn’t just a modern digital phenomenon – it’s a fundamental human strategy for innovation that has evolved alongside our communication technologies. Understanding this rich crowdsourcing history helps us appreciate both its proven potential and its future possibilities.
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