Innovation Engine Blog

Crowdsourcing. It’s one controversial yet increasingly popular topic. From marketing agencies to scientific research, many industries are taking a hard look at how crowdsourcing may be a solution for problems too big for one person or even one company to solve.

But why is crowdsourcing catching on—and how will it affect the future?

The specific solution varies by industry, but for most, crowdsourcing is a low cost way to acquire a greater (in quantity—and hopefully in quality) solution set to a defined problem. In other words, crowdsourcing is fulfilling an unmet need for many industries—the need to attain more for less. But what about the flip side of crowdsourcing? What about the consumers?

Without willing participants, crowdsourcing simply doesn’t work. If people are unwilling to participate, then there’s no content. And that chance is a big gamble. So what makes people want to contribute their time and effort?

A cause. Beyond cash, (see Chicago based CrowdSpring for an example of how some people make a living from the flip side of crowdsourcing) most people find that either helping others or contributing to a cause is a worthwhile investment—a good reason to be part of the crowd.

Take a look at the Aha mobile app, for instance. Sure, Aha guides users via GPS, allows users to customize food alerts on the travel path and has even been designed with a 65MPH-safe interface. But it’s the community aspect that sets it apart. Aha is a driver to driver network that connects drivers to each other and to relevant information from the internet. For instance, if a user is motoring down a busy interstate and traffic suddenly slows due to an accident, that user can record a voice memo alerting fellow drivers traveling (or planning to travel) down the same roadway. After all, news does travel faster via networks as proved by events like the Hudson River plane crash in January of 2009—the public was notified via Twitter first, not by mainstream media—an example of self-initiated, crowdsourced news reporting.

And speaking of networks, Facebook has also integrated crowdsourcing to solve content and policy problems—The Facebook Community Council. This council is a crowdsourced tagging application open to only select members. And once invited, the user can tag content that has been pulled for review with one of 8 tags—Spam, Not English, Skip, Nudity, Drugs, Attacking, and Violence. In effect, Facebook users are now patrolling the network for free in an attempt to keep up with content created and shared by its 350 million users.

The most innovative companies of the near future will replace less efficient and commoditized processes with crowdsourcing to bring tangible value to stakeholders and consumers through increased operating efficiency and higher quality products, services, and business models.

What areas of your industry could benefit from crowdsourcing, and how will it affect you?

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Let’s say you’re driving home from work when all of a sudden your front left tire drops into a massive pothole causing you to swerve right. Luckily, there are no cars in the right lane, but regardless you’ve narrowly avoided an accident, and with good reason, you’re upset.

So what?

Well, a few years ago, you might have complained to your friend in the passenger seat and just kept on driving. But now, people have the power to report local issues with the click of a few buttons and the power of GPS.

City residents can now use an app like SeeClickFix, a mobile application that allows its users to take a photo of a pothole, a burnt out street light, fresh graffiti—basically anything that needs to be fixed by the local government—and report it using a mobile GPS device. Along with a photo and GPS location, users can add notes and track progress, as well as receive and view alerts on nearby city issues. Then, users can see how many other people have reported the same issue and monitor the most reported, a.k.a “hot issues” in the selected city.

Just one app out of the many that have been dubbed “Gov 2.0” by the tech community, SeeClickFix is utilizing GPS location in an attempt to make local government more efficient and responsive—and the app supports a trend that we’ve watched develop over the last decade called “Track Me, Help Me.”

The “Track Me, Help Me” trend was sparked by recognition of not only the popularity and functionality of GPS navigational systems on-board mobile devices, but also by the recognition of consumer willingness to offer up a very valuable piece of the puzzle:

Location, location, location.

Many people with smart phones have come to depend on apps like Google Maps, but now, as demonstrated by apps like SeeClickFix, people are ready to take location to the next level. Whether it be the power to innovate local government operations or the pleasure of playing virtual put-put, consumers are receiving relevant benefits when they give this information away—more evidence of not only “Track Me, Help Me,” but also of the evolving consumer-driven market.

But the GPS centric apps currently available are just the tip of the ice burg. As app developers begin working in tighter conjunction with the government, corporations and organizations, GPS innovation will be streamlined and even more integrated into our daily lives. In fact, many industries have just now recognized this trend and are developing applications to catch up to this unmet consumer need, meaning that even more people will be saying “Track Me, Help Me” while being enabled to accomplish tasks—no matter how big—with efficiency.

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Bank of America Mobile Banking
Chase Mobile (SM)
PayPal
Discover Mobile

The top four free Finance category iPhone apps all have something in common (besides being located in the iTunes store):

Practical Functionality

With these four apps users can check balances, look at statements and monitor their finances with no unnecessary add-ons or frills. In other words, the apps are a complement to the already existing online banking sites, not a replacement. And while some users describe these apps as “nothing special,” that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although mobile devices are quickly becoming a primary means to accomplish tasks, find information and experience media, their very scale and design helps dictate functionality.

You wouldn’t use a snorkel mask to go scuba diving. (You wear one so you can explore the ocean—but not to the extent that you would with air tanks and scuba gear.)

So what does this say about the future of financial apps?

Although we will be capable of accomplishing more through our mobile devices as technology, bandwidth, and battery life evolves, the medium will continue to dictate the material. Applying for a loan, reading terms and signing a contract on a mobile device simply isn’t practical. Financial apps will allow users to accomplish the tasks they deem necessary on the go. In effect, there will be more financial apps for more financial institutions as the consumer needs grow, but the depth of the apps may not increase at the same speed. Yet, mobile banking and monitoring interfaces will become more intuitive and therefore easier to use—driving mobile banking usership alongside smart-phone technology.

Consumers are already considering mobility a factor when deciding on financial institutions. Does the user find functional value in the app? Is the interface user-friendly? These mobility-centric questions will continue to fuel innovation in the financial services decision-making process. One of biggest challenges for the future of financial apps is to, as Mike Maddock puts it in Always Bring Donuts, “Design useful things."

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At 9am every morning Maddock Douglas—both our Midwest and east coast offices—convene for the Nine at Nine (9@9), the daily nine minute meeting where we share and discuss good personal and business news and ask “Does anyone have any stucks?” (The stuck question is our way of utilizing our resources and talents where we need them most, as if anyone is overloaded with work, they can step forward with a “stuck,” and anyone with extra time can volunteer to help.)

And instead of flying our entire Midwest office to our East Coast office, we use what many companies, families and organizations also use to stay connected:

Videoconferencing

More than voice alone, videoconferencing allows both of our offices to not only hear what’s going on, but to also see it. (This is especially important on Halloween.) And for many organizations that work collaboratively, or for those that require face time, it’s a travel cost reducing, environmentally friendly option that allows those involved to accomplish the same things they would have otherwise accomplished, in-person. But many already know about the consumer grade videoconferencing options and have even used them, but let’s talk about the next level:

Telepresence

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) the company whose “vision is to change the way people work, live, play and learn,” has been in the videoconferencing game for a while, but it’s their recent development and the spreading corporate adoption of their offering that sets them apart—that and the experience they create with the installation of their system.

This is no plug and box operation—to ensure that their customers feel like they are literally sitting in the same room, wall paint, chairs and tables specific to Cisco Telepresence are installed. Lighting and acoustics, are of course taken very carefully into consideration. And the effect? Very impressive.

With Cisco Telepresence you can even record a video conference and send it to a mobile phone—the integration of high quality video into our daily lives is boundless with this technology. And with the recent acquisition of Tandberg, a Norwegian firm that offers similar technology, but on a smaller, cheaper scale, Cisco is building out their portfolio, according to Ned Hooper, a Senior Vice President. Building out their portfolio, indeed, but also innovating how we might communicate in the years to come.

So are you video conferencing? Is it changing the way you see communication?

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What happens when an already concrete, long-standing industry perceived as the opposite of user-driven tries its hand at innovation? What happens when the financial services industry makes the leap onto the user-driven Web and into mobility? Well, here’s one of our picks for a company that really got financial innovation right:

Mint.com

Mint.com is home to a free, ultra-customizable money management and budgeting system. Sure, there are a lot of companies producing software and websites to help people better track and manage money, but Mint is the first to offer an elegant, highly customizable solution for a very custom need. So what’s elegant about it? Well, according to some of the over 1 million people already using Mint:

It fulfills an unmet need.

Mint isn’t just design oriented—that is, while it’s full of relevant, detailed features; Mint isn’t all about the aesthetic.

And, as of now, Mint has a user base of over 1 million people and is tracking 175 billion in transactions, 47 billion in assets and has identified more than 300 million in potential savings for its users. But how did this financial services web-based start up that has only been in operation for two years manage to gain recognition as the web’s foremost way to manage money?

It all started with insight.

For Aaron Patzer, CEO and founder of Mint, Quicken was cumbersome. It just didn’t have the ease of use and the range of customizable solutions that is required by individual-specific financial situations. In short, it was an umbrella system. However, by assessing the finite points of personal finance and asking the simple, but powerful question: What would I want out of this? Patzer got it right.

So right in fact, that Intuit, the maker of Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax and the inspiration for Mint itself, recently acquired Patzer’s company for about 170 million in September of 2009.

According to Patzer, “we tried to ground ourselves in what any business should be doing: solve a real problem for people. Make something that is faster, more efficient, cheaper and innovate on technology or business models to make a healthy revenue stream doing it.”

By responding to insight, fulfilling an unmet need and by making clear communication, not aesthetic design, a primary concern, Mint.com is innovating how many manage their money—and how they see the financial services industry.

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The yearly Google Zeitgeist (translation "the spirit of the times"), is the summation of the most popular searches in all of Googledom—a sampling of what was on the minds of millions of Americans and international Web searchers. Let’s examine the top ten from 2009 more closely. What can we learn from this information—what are the insights—what’s at the core of it all?

First, let’s look at the top ten searches in 2009 in America:

1. twitter
2. michael jackson
3. facebook
4. hulu
5. hi5
6. glee
7. paranormal activity
8. natasha richardson
9. farrah fawcett
10. lady gaga

 As you can see, search terms like “foreign policy” or “cholesterol” are not on this list. Americans searched for social, entertainment and celebrity topics with extremely high frequency...But what does this say about Americans? We think it may have something to do with this:

We’re curious.

You might be thinking, “well, that’s obvious,” but let’s dig deeper. Millions took to the Web to find celebrity information—the stories to match the headlines. But is the basis of that curiosity just tabloid fever—an obsession with the idea of celebrity? We think it might be something more: interest in the stories and lives of other people. Interest in the human story—and that goes beyond celebrity gossip—drives conversations online and off. But for many, social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Hi5 give people a faster, easier way to communicate ideas, ultimately facilitating the conversations. People flock to social networks to connect with others and search for the details of celebrity life to get more personal—perhaps all we want is to get beyond the introductory small talk—faster.

As demonstrated by Google Zeitgeist, curiosity is powerful. And at Maddock Douglas, we empower curiosity and celebrate our "sense of wonder". Where we find ourselves curious, we often find value and insight. And for us, insights are an essential part of innovation.

So what makes you curious? Are you using curiosity to drive innovation?

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We’ve discussed the importance of content, the power and potential of 4G, and now we’re ready to highlight some of our favorite mobile innovations picks:

Alertme and Google’s PowerMeter

Energy and Sustainability Innovation

Alertme is a UK energy management start-up creating devices that read and monitor energy data—no electrician necessary. The components, a Nano Hub (the “brains of the kit”) requires power and a broadband connection so it can talk to the reader and transmitter, gathering and distributing energy data to the AlertMe dashboard—an online interface for adjusting and monitoring your home energy spend in real time.

Without any further additions, AlertMe is already a wonderful idea. The fact that people using AlertMe services can, for instance, turn the heat off from work, and monitor those changes to save money and help decrease their footprint is hands-down innovative. But now Google had stepped in to take things to the next level.

Google recently partnered with AlertMe to add what they’d been missing—the device component for their PowerMeter offering. PowerMeter, a free application that allows users to “see electricity use from any Google PowerMeter enabled device,” brings real-time energy data to the mobile, anytime, anywhere level. And with 4G speeds already up and running in major markets, going green never looked so fast.

The Ikea Portable Interior Planner

Augmented Reality and Planning Innovation

There’s no doubt that for many, IKEA is the place to find forward thinking design that’s in line with conservative budgets. But, since the beginning of furniture buying, there’s been a problem: How can people accurately envision how furniture will look and how can anyone know if the item will even fit in the envisioned area?

This problem is obviously a deterrent for purchases. But now, all you need to do is go to your Portable Interior Planner app, take a photo of that sofa you’ve been thinking about, aim your camera at the proposed area where the furniture might be placed, and see the sofa superimposed over the image of the room. Then, the product can be scaled up or down to match room size and saved for later reference. The Portable Interior Planner is a solution to a long overlooked problem—and the need is met by a mobile app that utilizes augmented reality.

Mobile represents one of the greatest untapped markets for 2010 and beyond. These are our favorite recent evolutions in an ever expanding new product, service, and business model environment. What are some of your favorite innovations in mobile technology?

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Last week, we talked about the mobile whitespace, the power of the app and consumer consideration. And as we know, brands are utilizing the mobile space to not only commercialize products and services, but also to assist the consumer. The Mobile Magic app, for instance, by Disney and Verizon Wireless is replete with relevant content: wait times for rides, restaurant information and where and when Disney characters will make appearances are all included in a data dispensing, real-time, GPS enabled mobile guide. Now, Walt Disney World patrons can make decisions based on helpful information—effectively creating a richer, more realized theme park experience. Disney and Verizon Wireless are ultimately creating an entity beyond the app. Instead of filling the mobile whitespace solely with entertaining content or just charts and data, Mobile Magic finds the cross hairs. In this case, it becomes more than an application— it becomes a resource—maybe even a necessity to fully experience the World of Walt Disney.

But what happens when 4G hits mobile commercialization? How does an app like Mobile Magic hold up? Yes, you guessed it: faster.

The technology moving the message is ramping up—in fact two weeks ago, Clearwire launched WiMax, (also known as 4G) in Chicago, facilitating the beginning of an ultramobile enabled market. With higher speeds come the ability to view richer media, and since streaming audio and video from sites like youtube.com accounts for roughly 27% of global internet traffic, it’s not difficult to see where brands are looking next.

Hulu is already doing it. If you want to watch a free movie, you have to sit through a mini 15 second spot. But if 4G speeds things up and consumers watch more, shorter length videos on their mobile phones, what does this mean? One second spots for every thirty second video? This sounds like either subliminal messaging or completely ineffective, but most likely both. (And an aside: Hulu recently announced they will be charging for their content.) So now what?

Next week I'll highlight some of the companies that are creating innovative products, services, and business models to take advantage of the coming developments in mobile bandwidth and technologies.

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Smartphones are everywhere. But what about smart content? Last week, we talked about the importance of strategy and insight. And now, it’s time to explore the ultimate creative commercialization frontier: mobile whitespace.

Many have done it before, that is, faced the “White Bull,” also known as the blank page. Only now, in the digital age, we’ve been presented with mobile whitespace, the gift of nearly unlimited digital possibilities that fit in the palm of your hand. What we choose to fill it with today has the potential to revolutionize the mobile space for years to come. With the purchase of two billion apps to date, we know that content is the lifeblood of anything worth paying attention to. And now, we also know that useful and interesting content gains more traction and leaves a greater brand imprint. But let’s go beyond that. Let’s talk targeted innovation.

For those of us without Tivo or DVR watching a favorite show, we’re bound to see the same thirty-second spot at least more than once. After the third time, you may be annoyed. Granted the strategy behind this placement is brand penetration, there’s a big problem: if anyone is interested in purchasing the commercialized service or product, they’re probably in one of many buying stages. And if they’re receiving the same singular message that is anchored to one stage, over and over, the brand loses relevancy. This content strategy is the equivalent of asking a multitude of various questions about the product and receiving the same answer, over and over—whether or not it makes sense.

To make a purchasing decision, people want more pertinent information, not the same set of facts. And in the mobile realm, we have an extraordinary opportunity to give people information they may want or need to assist them in making a purchase. Mobile content is faster—replacing a message is no longer a month long conundrum. And if customers are interested in a set of products and choose to opt in, we have the information we need to help them, instead of pushing one message into their faces, hoping for the best. After all, just as Apple puts it: Smartphones are “solving life’s dilemmas, one app at a time.” Why not help solve the purchasing decision dilemma?

Now is the time to innovate in this space and to turn insights into relevant realities. Now is the time to truly consider the consumer. And with mobile technology literally ramping up, we have the chance to do something revolutionary.

Next week, I’ll be discussing the emerging technology driving mobile innovation. Tune in next week to see what’s next and why.

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Innovation opportunities within the mobile arena are major game changers. With the proliferation and widespread adoption of the smartphone, brands are faced with a wide range of possible solutions and strategic choices when attempting to fill in this commercialization whitespace. Although auto brands like Volkswagen and Audi have already seen considerable success integrating their brands into the mobile spaces by leveraging the popularity of mobile gaming, for many others, the mobile waters can be tricky to navigate. Pepsi’s app “Before You Score,” a mobile interface designed to help adolescent boys and young men target different “types” of women, “score” and then share their experiences on Twitter and Facebook, received so much negative feedback from both women and their target audience that Pepsi eventually pulled it. In this consumer-driven market, what makes mobile advertising successful—and what makes it a liability?

Strategy

Accurate insights and up-to-date data are crucial to great brand strategy.

Without it, brands end up overestimating the needs, desires and attitudes of their target market. And that, as we all know, ends up in near disaster. Mobile marketing is one of the most recent developments in the means of delivering the message, and for many it can be an innovative medium to build on. However, a foundation of solid research that supports an actual need is required to build something of worth—to the client and the consumer.

Content

We’ve all heard “content is king,” but what is content? For mobile advertising, the content is the medium within the medium.

People are great at avoiding, skipping, or just plain ignoring ads—why shouldn’t they? What value does a logo bar on an RSS feed add to the lives of your target audience? Probably not much. To successfully penetrate the mobile space and your target market, brands have to add value to peoples lives and give them something they want or need to use or see. The method of delivering relative content has become part of the content in the mobile space.

The numbers are there—mobile phone use, and smartphone use in particular is increasing dramatically. Are you prepared to innovate and ride the next commercialization revolution?

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Change is definitely ahead and Mike Maddock and the Maddock Douglas team were at the Future Trends 2009 Conference in Miami, Florida to be a part of the conversation. Brands like Starbucks, Best Buy, IBM Corporation, Unilever and General Mills were in attendance this year to talk about the topic on everyone’s mind: the future. Among the many inspired thought leaders and concepts presented at this year’s Future Trends, Maddock Douglas found the following innovative companies and ideas had the exceptional ability to get our wheels turning:

Coca-Cola

Tom LaForge, Director, Knowledge and Insights

1) Happiness is what every brand aspires to be.

2) It’s not who you are but how you relate to others.

3) What kind of world are you buying into with the brands you buy?

Coca-Cola had a standout presentation, examining the core beliefs and ideas behind “Happiness and Other Concepts Your Business School Forgot to Mention.” Asking “What does your brand mean” and “how will it change,” Coca Cola tapped into the heart of a now consumer-driven market and addressed why understanding it is so crucial to a brand’s success. Ultimately, a brand isn’t just a brand. It’s a choice.

Nokia

Ville Tikka, Senior Futures Specialist

 Nokia presented The Morph concept device, a flexible, self-cleaning communication tool that utilizes nanotechnology. While nanotechnology is already used in foods, chemicals and fabrics, this utilization of stretchable, transparent materials for a mobile device is utterly groundbreaking. The Morph has the ability to change shape and ultimately size by using the same principle behind spider silk—woven, mesh-like coverings that allow elasticity, enabling the device to bend and morph without damage.

Motorola

Bruce Claxton, Senior Director, Design Integration

1)Technology based innovation vs. User centered design

2) High velocity human factors

3)Revolutionizing the Mission Critical Design process

Motorola uses observational research and insight to innovate communication products for police departments, firefighters and the like—the Mission Critical applications. And in these cases, nothing is more important than functionality. Motorola innovates for the sake of the market they’re serving—not just for aesthetic appeal. Demonstrating the importance of focusing on what matters, the insight and the quality of the product, Motorola innovates for purpose. At Maddock Douglas, an innovation agency, we see Motorola’s insight as directly correlating with the actual quality of innovation. By considering the high velocity human factors, and gathering observational and application data and using real-life stories to develop concepts, Motorola is evolving toward the future with purpose-built design.

After all of the meeting, greeting and innovating at Future Trends 2009, we’ve decided the future is looking bright indeed. Are you ready to evolve?

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