Tag / web

by YannigRoth

Oxylane Launches (Another) Sports-Related Open Innovation Platform

Today (February 12th) the Open Oxyale page is still in teaser mode. Click to access

Today (February 12th) the Open Oxyale page is still in teaser mode. Click to access

On April 1st, Oxylane Group will launch “Open Oxylane,” a sports-related open innovation platform. That’s what the French trade magazine LSA reported yesterday. Despite the launch date, it’s probably serious business. Oxylane Group, which runs the Decathlon department stores, has already made inroads into co-creation and open innovation: in October 2011 I blogged about b’Twin Lab, a co-creation platform dedicated to cycling products (which has closed since), and in April 2012 I blogged about a series of contests run by the same brand with Local Motors. These didn’t seem to have been a success, but with Open Oxylane, the company keeps pushing.
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by YannigRoth

The Three French Challengers of Quirky

Quirky’s mantra is to “make invention accessible” to all – and it seems to work if you judge by the success of Quirky in the United States. But as soon as you have success, you also start having competition, either globally or locally. A lot of entrepreneurs want to replicate that idea in their respective countries, adapt it, tweak it a bit.

In France, a country that pioneered the concept between 2007 and 2011 with the rise and fall of CrowdSpirit, where I also happen to live and work, collaborative innovation platforms are popping up like mushrooms. What are they called? Who are their founders? What is their model? What are they ambitions? Let’s have a look at Quirky France… and three of their challengers: Nov’in, La Fabrique à Innovations, and MyKompany. Continue reading →

by YannigRoth

Should Creative Crowdsourcing Participants Get Working Contracts And Salaries?

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For one year, there have been two important legal events that could shape the future of the crowdsourcing landscape. First, on October 26th 2012, one-time Crowdflower worker Christopher Otey filed a lawsuit (PDF) against Crowdflower alleging that the platform violated the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act. Second, on October 22nd 2013, a group of Yelp reviewers filed a class-action lawsuit (PDF) against the business review site, claiming that they are unpaid writers who are vital to the company’s existence. These two lawsuits are claiming Labor law applications to micro-task crowdsourcing activities.

Could this happen in creative crowdsourcing?

Up to this day, neither of these lawsuits -which have very similar claims- have been closed, which shrouds the entire crowdsourcing industry in a big question mark. In this post, I briefly describe these cases, clarify the legal situation in the U.S. and in France, and tell whether creative crowdsourcing participants should get working contracts with platforms and sponsors – or not. Continue reading →

by YannigRoth

To End 2013, Some Stats From The Crowdsourcing Timeline

Click to access timeline

Click to access timeline

It’s been a little more than a year that I started curating crowdsourcing initiatives by the World’s Best Global Brands on this timeline. As I write this, there are now 479 examples of crowdsourcing listed, with information about the initiatiors, objectives and results of each initiative – at least I try to keep it updated to the best I can! I’m extremely humbled that some of the brightest minds in business and academia (@lindegaard, @jtwinsor, @bogers, @klakhani, @masscustom)  also appreciate this timeline. As we are ending 2013 these days, and starting 2014, let me just share some facts based on this timeline’s data. Just scroll down and let the visualizations speak by themselves. Continue reading →

by YannigRoth

Jeremiah Owyang Présente Crowd Companies à Le Web Paris

Logo-CrowdCompanies

Cet après-midi, à Le Web Paris, Jeremiah Owyang a présenté son dernier projet: Crowd Companies. Dans sa présentation “Is Your Company Ready For The Next Ten Years?” (Votre entreprise est-elle prête pour les 10 prochaines années?), il a présenté quelques entreprises qui, se basant sur les ressources apportées par la foule, bousculent des industries établies: Airbnb qui se frotte à l’hôtellerie, Uber qui embête les chauffeurs de taxis et d’autres. Les habitudes de consommation changent, et Crowd Companies a pour projet d’aider les grandes entreprises à s’adapter à l’essor de la consommation collaborative, de la fabrication à domicile (maker mouvement) et de la co-création entre clients. Continue reading →

by YannigRoth

A Tour of Quirky’s Headquarters in New York City [Photos]

Quirky Product Eval Behind The Scenes

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In NYC for a week (holidays), I thought it would be a great opportunity to visit Quirky, this interesting company that “makes invention accessible.” I’ve already written about Quirky a number of times, both in English and in French, and I was excited to get visit their office on Thursday night, and to attend the product evaluation session, or “Quirky Eval.” The photos are by @maelroth and me – only mine are bad in quality. Continue reading →

by YannigRoth

Avis Sur Spécial Investigation (Canal+) Évoquant le Crowdsourcing

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Lundi 14 Octobre à 22h25 et ce dimanche vers 17h, Canal+ a diffusé un Spécial Investigation sur “Travailler Plus Pour Gagner… Rien”. Un reportage très intéressant qui souligne des phénomènes de société comme le travail précaire dans les compagnies low-cost, l’abus dans l’embauche de stagiaires, le travail mal rémunéré à Disney World et… la participation de créatifs au crowdsourcing. Pour traiter ce sujet, le réalisateur Pierre-Emmanuel Luneau Daurignac présente la société eYeka (dont je suis salarié), un membre de la communauté (Julien Beuvry) et un client (Philippe Claverol, Head of DS Line chez Citroën). Malgré l’angle éditorial très orienté, le sujet est plutôt bien traité. Néanmoins, le reportage comporte quelques erreurs qu’il convient de rectifier.

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