if executives are going to rely on the wisdom of the masses for business help, it's probably time the masses get a little compensation for it. That's the theory behind Kluster, the newest in a lineup of companies using the Web to channel the collective wisdom of strangers into meaningful business strategies.
Ben Kaufman, founder of Kluster, goes on stage to tell what he and his team have been doing -- with the help of TED attendees and 1200 people around the world -- since the beginning of the conference. Kluster is an online collaboration and decision-making platform. They set out Wednesday morning to develop a product, with some basic guidelines but "we didn't know what it would be."
Crowdsourcing firm Kluster officially launched yesterday at the TED conference, which is underway this week in Monterey, California. The idea behind Kluster is that a group of passionate people working together can come up with better solutions for any decision-making problem than a single person. Whether that is planning an event, designing a new logo, or creating a new product, Kluster believes their system can work.
Al Gore will be there. Sir Bob Geldof is on the bill. So is Craig Venter, the genomic pioneer. As scores of global glitterati gather in Monterey, Calif., on Feb. 27 at the technology, entertainment, and design conference known as TED, they'll be joined by a 21-year-old who wears low-slung pants and an oversize coat. That would be Ben Kaufman, CEO of a Burlington (Vt.) software startup called Kluster.
Kluster is a newly launched web-based collaboration and decision-making platform. Born of simpler roots - namely Mophie, an iPod accessory company relying heavily on its customer base in the design and development process - Kluster seeks to foster the same principals that made Mophie so popular by engaging consumers to conceive, design, brand, and launch new products. Kluster's founder, Ben Kaufman, sat down with Behance to explain how his new project will help make ideas happen.
"Kluster, which is supposed to launch later today in a public beta and will be used by attendees at next week’s TED conference, is designed so that companies can offer cash rewards for each phase of a project. Participants who back the winning idea get to share the reward. Projects can range from creating logos and marketing campaigns to designing a product..."
"But I was able to test the system, and talk to Ben and some of his design team—including the curiously named Matt Poprocki. Yes, that's really his name. The first photo is Ben, the second one shows (from left to right) designers Matt Poprocki and David Hitchcock...."