In my last blog-post I introduced some terms and some types of 3D printing platforms. I explained what kind of types of co-creation there are, and how they relate to some 3D printing platforms. In this blog-post I would like to look further into the 3D printing service activity called ‘Design crowdsourcing’’. To refresh your minds, design crowdsourcing service offers a platform where user can ask the crowd to help design a detailed described project. We already know this kind of platform, it is called Werkspot in the Netherlands.
Similar to a lot of things we take for granted these days, a couple of years ago it was unthinkable what Google Street View now offers to its users. It does an incredibly good job in capturing the world and letting us explore places all over the world while enjoying a warm cup of coffee in our comfortable sofa. So far, no other company has been successful in reproducing the content Google Street View has captured. However, a Swedish start-up, Mapillary, is trying to do things differently since its inception in September 2013. Instead of constructing a representation of the world on their own, they are building a crowdsourced competitor of Google Street View by making use of pictures taken by their community of passionate contributors.
In the today’s world of internet people are surrounded by lots of information often leading to an overload of information. It is even more problematic to identify the right information from the wrong or redundant one. This overload of information can often lead to unanswered questions which we may face in our day to day lives. Is organic healthy? Should I eat GMO food? What are gravitational waves? Are vaccines reliable? A simple google search can yield results which offer contrasting arguments and you just do not know what to believe. Introducing the Skeptics Guide to the Universe, http://www.theskepticsguide.org/. An online community of users and experts which tackle these day to day questions and provide answers based on logic, science and analytical reasoning. It is also an award winning science podcast with over 500 episodes.
MOOC’s, short for Massive Open Online Courses, are a real trend these days. With costs of education rising in countries like the US, UK and even the Netherlands, alternatives are gaining in popularity.
What is a MOOC?
There are several aspects that define online courses to be actual MOOC’s. Firstly, they are Massive, with some of the most popular courses guiding 100.000+ students. The first massive course was Stanford’s artificial intelligence course in 2011 with 150.000 students! More defining are that these courses are online and open for everyone. Even though some of the courses ask a fee for a verified certificate with your name on it, the basic learning is free and everything is accessible.
Consumer Value Creation 