6 Great Apps That Rely Solely On Crowdsourcing

Both start-ups and established businesses are embracing crowdsourcing more than ever before. By cultivating the power, knowledge and creativity of other experts and consumers, it gives companies a good base on which to grow and sparks opportunities for new ideas to emerge.

Crowdsourcing is only just starting to get the attention it deserves. Its value to tech start-up companies is unmatched. As one of the only affordable options for small businesses it works so well, and can provide a good basis for a solid business plan, as long as you can get people interested and are filling a hole in the market.

Some businesses exist solely because of crowdsourcing. This is particularly evident in the app development arena – the reason being that it’s easier for people to share, interact and co-operate using their phones. App developers are truly cashing in though, because not only are they collating valuable information that users want, they’re doing it at no extra cost to themselves. Take a look these successful apps that rely solely on crowd sourcing.

Waze

One of the most successful crowd-powered start-ups is Waze. It’s an app that allows users to report traffic jams and automatically gives directions for the best route to take. Waze crowd sources information by measuring drivers speed to determine traffic jams and by asking users to report road closures.

Waze is also home to an active community of online map editors who ensure that the data in their areas is as up-to-date as possible. It’s a great app that proves a dedicated crowd is sometimes all a company needs.

Uber

Another successful app named Uber was built upon crowdsourcing, and offers users the chance to earn extra money in the process. The app connects people in need of a taxi with drivers going in that direction. They’ll pick the driver up and drop them off at an agreed location and in return the driver will get paid by the user automatically via Paypal.

It’s a handy app to have in the city – by bringing people together it cuts expenses for riders and helps drivers earn extra income.

Be My Eyes

This app relies on the good-hearted nature of society, and lends a helping hand to those who are sight impaired. It offers them help whenever they need it, and means they don’t have to excessively rely on individual family members or friends.

If a blind person needs assistance he’ll ask for it using the app, and if there’s a sighted person available close by who is signed up to the app, they’ll get a notification or call. Of course, they can decline if busy, but if they have a spare few minutes they can choose to lend their eyesight to someone in need.

Miflight

The Miflight app allows travellers to input their flight security waiting times so the next flier can have a better experience. No one likes waiting in line, so this crowd sourced service is pretty useful. Travellers update at various checkpoints in over 75 of the busiest global airports and 75 of the top airports in the US to make the travel experience more efficient and much less stressful.

Airbnb

Airbnb’s whole business model is based on crowdsourcing – it’s essentially a travel website that allows individuals to let out their homes all over the world. If it wasn’t for them, there’d be no site. Like Uber, it brings together people wanting to earn money and those looking for a place to stay.

Over the past few years Airbnb’s popularity has increased significantly, with many travelers opting to book accommodation through the site, rather than book a package deal with more well-known holiday companies.

Placometer

Placemeter is an app that encourages citizens to take videos of their surroundings using their phones. Once signed up they send participants a suction cup to attach their old phones to the window to film the streets and popular landmarks below.

What does Placemeter do with this data? Well, they analyse traffic patterns, help businesses market better and inform consumers of waiting line times etc.

Weather signal

This last one comes in the form of a crowd-sourced weather map. The weather changes frequently, and often so fast we can’t keep up with it. However, WeatherSignal brings a new way of collecting weather data – by using the sensors in smartphones.

The sensors allow those who have the app to contribute data such as temperature, pressure, light intensity, magnetic flux and humidity to a network that will inform others of location based weather in real time. The aim of WeatherSignal is to create the most accurate localised weather map in the world.

So there you have it – six great apps that rely solely on crowdsourcing. These examples convey just how powerful crowdsourcing can be. This method of curation has helped transform many simple ideas into successful, working creations with minimal effort and cost involved. Not only that, crowdsourcing gives businesses a ready-made database of users and invaluable marketing that you couldn’t re-create.

Whatever you do, don’t underestimate the power of consumers when it comes to your start-up tech business, whether you’re developing an app or something else entirely.