Crowdfunding

In James Surowiecki's book "The Wisdom of Crowds", the author discusses how the masses, given the right four circumstance, will provide better intelligence and outcomes than individual decision makers.

The four key conditions that must be met:

(1) a diversity of opinion
(2) independence of members from one another
(3) decentralization
(4) a good method for aggregating opinions

Some of the notions in Surowiecki's book have been brought effectively to life through an intriguing New York based company Kickstarter.

Kickstarter provides an online funding platform for technologists, designers, documentary filmmakers, artists and a host of other creative individuals to gain funding for their projects. What makes Kickstarter unique is that money does not change hands unless a project reaches its full funding goal.

The videos and descriptions of many of these creative projects are inspiring and it is understandable how a site like Kickstarter is an effective online funding platform.

You can read stories about a girl and her dog wanting to travel across the US and to write a book about their journey. Or fund a fully searchable Rap - Hip Hop Almanac. Perhaps you may be encouraged to help a young woman who wants to bring art in person to people's homes.

Crowds rule on Kickstarter and you are able to see the power of crowds through how successful some projects are.

Can organizations learn a lesson from Kickstarter and the importance of "the crowd"? How else can the power of crowds be employed in the business world?