Crowdspring (written "crowdSPRING", legally crowdSPRING, LLC) is an
online marketplace
An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce website where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce and can be a way ...
for crowdsourced creative services.
Overview
Crowdspring was co-founded in May 2007 by Ross Kimbarovsky and Michael Samson.
Crowdspring launched its online marketplace publicly in May 2008. Crowdspring is based in Chicago.
More than 200,000 graphic designers and writers from 200 countries work on Crowdspring.
Blog
Crowdspring maintains a
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
which was launched in mid-2008.
Criticism
When it launched publicly in mid-2008, the company and its business model received some criticism because Crowdspring's marketplace works on a speculative model and challenges traditional ways of buying and selling graphic design, industrial design, and copywriting services. This is the process of asking professionals to complete custom work for the chance of getting payment. This means that most people involved in the process effectively work for free. Crowdspring embraced and actively participates in the debate about its spec work business model.
Is Spec Work Evil? The Online Creative Community Speaks
References
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Further reading
Social Media Marketing: The Next Generation of Business Engagement
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...
. pp. pt232–233.
Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods
Penguin
Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
. pp. pt.110–111
Information Week
Chicago Tribune
Information Week
External links
Crowdspring website
Design companies of the United States
Companies based in Chicago
Online marketplaces of the United States
Privately held companies based in Illinois
Graphic design