How Crowdworking is Making Headways as a Booming Ecosystem In 2018 Crowdworking is a viable option to tackle the rising unemployment in developing countries

The term "crowdsourcing" was coined in 2005, as a means to divide work among skilled people in order achieve the desired result. Crowdworking is simply one aspect of crowdsourcing that specifically refers to sourcing skilled workers for certain jobs that may not necessarily require full-time resources. It can also refer to collaborative work where the crowd comes together to complete a job.

Change in Perception

There has been a visible shift in the perception towards freelancing in the past year in India. It is no longer viewed as just an option for when you aren't employed, it is a long-term career prospect and way of working for many. With the rising sense of independency that each professional faces, there comes a need for employment and ownership. The employed look for something more than just their everyday job, while employers look for people who can bring more to the table than just showing up. If you consider today's scenario, almost everyone wishes to become an entrepreneur, work for themselves, or use their skill set to churn out good work that is solely theirs. In line with that, they often lack a platform where they can showcase their work and seek opportunities. This is where crowdworking websites step in and bridge the gap.

Increasing Popularity of Crowdworking

Off late, crowdworking has become popular, primarily, as it provides a platform to the many freelancers out there, offering opportunities to create, find work and establish an independent source of income. Crowdworking has become a preferred working style for many reasons:

• Individual & independent working style
• Financially viable once you sustain your clients
• Eliminates monotony
• Helps you explore different types of work

India is catching up with crowdworking and is taking to it with enthusiasm. Inspired by the working demographics in the USA, the millennials in India are consciously driven to be financially responsible. Freelancing wasn't as viable an option 3 years ago as it is now.

While 2016-2017 resulted in creating a strong foundation for freelancing in the country, the popularity of this work style looks to increase by leaps in 2018. Today, most employed or unemployed people are exploring freelancing opportunities, which is only fueling the growth for crowdworking in the country.

Scope for Freelancing

In the past two years, crowdworking has grown slowly and steadily and you can only expect it to rise further in 2018. Steven Reubenstone, Founder of Collaborizm, an online collaborative community based in Miami, US, says that 75 percent of the 115,000 individuals on the platform are freelancing from India. Here's why: freelancing allows you to work in your space with flexibility, there is room for creativity and better communication with different people in the industry. This attracts full time employees to take up something that is out of their daily routine and explore other avenues in their free time.

At this point, start-ups are booming and there is no stopping. It isn't as easy as it seems to come up with an idea and execute it. It takes people, skills and money. Crowdsourcing helps to build a talent pool and connect with professionals that can meet the needs of the day, all while being more cost-effective than hiring full-time personnel.

Start-up ventures are actively trusting freelancers with more work than ever before. Professionals who find their area of interest usually begin by working freelance with such start-ups, which caters to the need of both the company and the professional. Additionally, crowdworking symbolises a new style of landing creative and flexible jobs within the traditional framework.

Certain industries benefit most from crowdworking and work within these domains will likely increase in 2018:

Graphic designer

Social Media Management

Content Writing/Blogging

Market Research

Mobile App Development

Crowdsourcing and Crowdworking

2017 saw these professions budding and being outsourced excessively. Crowdsourcing and crowdworking has been popular among more developed countries— the USA has largely outsources work to developing countries like India, Bangladesh and Phillipines.

India has undergone major changes in terms of technology and right from the remote areas to the urban areas, internet connectivity has been on the rise. This has opened the doors of opportunity to people from all walks of life.

Traditionally, looking for work would take you straight to different job portals. The new twist to this scenario is crowdworking portals that offer a variety of work and new opportunities for creators to explore. India has entered the freelancing era and the industry has grown by 4% from 2005 to 2015. It is expected to rise by another 3% from 2018 to 2020 as compared to traditional job structures which may fall by an estimated 6%.

Future of Crowdworking

The growth in this industry has been impressive over the last 5 years and India is moving towards scaling it up in 2018. Since developing nations have better internet connectivity today, it is crowdworking is a viable option to tackle the rising unemployment in these countries. With this model job seekers find work online that suits their skill set and in turn, the job providers land employees who are flexible and creative in their work.

Crowdworking might sound like a new concept, but the idea behind it isn't. Considering the current scenario, 2018 has a lot in-store for this growing industry and it is the time for employers to leverage this movement, as India embraces the digital age with both arms open.