Crowdsourcing - The English We Speak

Hello, this is The English We Speak with me Feifei…

…and hello, it’s me, Rob.

Ermm, Rob. What are you doing?

Just preparing some biscuits for my new business.

Are you planning to sell biscuits?

Well, not any old biscuits, Feifei – Rob’s Amazing Crunch and Crumble Biscuits.

Rob’s Amazing Crunch and Crumble Biscuits.

This is my new career!

You’re going to need some help

if you want to launch a new biscuit business.

Hmmm, you’re right. Maybe you could help me put them in boxes?

No, Rob. You need more help than that – you need crowdsourcing.

Oh right, is that some kind of magic ingredient to put in the biscuits?

No! Crowdsourcing is when you ask groups of people for their ideas and opinions to

for their ideas and opinions to

help you develop your business idea.

Note that ‘crowdfunding’ is just when large numbers

of people donate small amounts

of money to help someone start a business.

These days, it’s a useful way to help you develop your business.

Here are some more examples of crowdsourcing…

I’m launching a crowdsourcing project to gather creative ideas

for my new fitness website.

We’re going to crowdsource to try and raise enough money so our idea of a  

treehouse cafe can become a reality.

I found crowdsourcing a great way to generate honest opinion

about the best way to start my vegan restaurant business.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, and we’re talking

about crowdsourcing – which is when you ask groups of people for their ideas

and opinions to help you develop your business idea.

So, Feifei, where do I find people to ask for help?

You can ask members of the public via the internet and on social media –

even ask friends and family– the more advice you can get the better.

Oh right – Well, in that case I’m going to message my mum

to see if she can help me bake a few more biscuits.

Rob, crowdsourcing involves more than just your mum.

You need to speak to lots of people.

Oh crumbs! Maybe I’ll stick with this presenting job for a little bit longer.

Do you fancy a biscuit?

Thanks.

Bye.