Crowdsourcing goes official. Introducing The Crowdsortium.

The problem with any new function is finding out the best practices for it. What works, what doesn’t and what’s left in between are questions that everyone has to ask without having very much in the way of answers. Crowdsourcing is no different and there are many myths and rumors that need to be put to rest while bringing the good information to light.

In view of this, Niel Robertson at Trada (who we’ve written about on two occasions before) got together with a group of 35 companies who have had proven success in crowdsourcing. The goal, of course, being to provide not so much a governing body for crowdsourcing, but rather to simply figure out what has worked and what hasn’t.

As the crowdsourcing market is wide open presently, the opportunity was prime. Yesterday’s CrowdConf in San Francisco seemed to offer an ideal venue to introduce the collaborative effort that is now known as The Crowdsortium. From what Robertson (and the amazing @ElaineEllis) tell me, Crowdsortium is off to a great start with big goals:

“The Crowdsortium is a group of crowdsourcing industry practitioners that have self-organized to advance the crowdsourcing industry through best practices, education, data collection and public dialog. Currently, there are more than 75 members of the Crowdsortium. Some of the member companies include Trada, uTest, CrowdFlower, Get Satisfaction and Victors & Spoils.”

The Crowdsortium started as a simple Google Group. From there, as ideas expanded, it became obvious that the answer was to grow into an official production. As Robertson tells me, The Crowdsortium site is broken down into two sections. For those who are interested in crowdsourcing as a practice, there will be a wealth of information eventually available on the site. However, practitioners of crowdsourcing businesses there is a membership section where you will be able to work with the rest of the members in order to find and manage best practices.

Personally, we’re all for people taking the reigns and forming groups to provide a better service. Cheers to Robertson, Trada and the other associated launch partners. Here’s to the continued success of The Crowdsortium.