CrowdSourcing in Web Development : Freelancing web developers community.

        With the arrival of web 2.0. developers have the power to collaborate more than ever. It has become increasingly popular among web developers. The idea of freelancing has skyrocketed and developers are contributing huge materials, ideas and solution in this platform. Today, I will be taking a deeper look into some of this platforms, their structure, business model, technological aspect and the freelancing community.         

        Today, we have several sites, where anyone can contribute and get rewarded for the contribution. While most of the open source platform which developers love, are mostly for creative ideas and developments, there still exists plenty of sites like Freelancer.com, bountyio.com, boutntysource which reward who can provide the solution to the problem.Companies lacking the skills or manpower to complete coding projects usually onboard a new employee or contract a freelancer. However, there’s a third, more cost-effective option for one-off projects:crowdsourcing. The strategy seems risky, because it relies on complete strangers, but it works well for nonprofits and enterprises alike.

      In the context of coding work, crowdsourcing involves collaboration between a coding community and a company. When nonprofit Kopernik needed code written quickly and cost-effectively, it worked with Free Code Camp, an online community of aspiring developers willing to do projects for free as a way to hone their skills and building their portfolios. 

             Crowdsourcing draws people in, as opposed to outsourcing, which requires active recruiting. Kopernik started by posting its project details on a virtual bulletin board on Free Code Camp.Platforms like Free Code Camp and CodeCloud.me allow employers to work with coders, save money, and train their employees. There are only a few of these platforms at the moment, but their numbers are growing as crowdsourcing gains more and more popularity.

        

         Companies can get a better quality product because there is a community of thousands working to develop and perfect this software - you can get results like Wiki software (which gives you a Wikipedia-like experience), and WordPress.  When a software’s source code is closed, or not available to the public, which was the traditional path of companies and still is for some big ones, it means that any creation or modification to the code is the exclusive domain of those to whom the owner gives access. As an example, no one can modify and distribute Microsoft Windows except Microsoft. 

                Github, which is a community for open-source and collaborative development, shows you how things are taking shape, and now a lot of enterprises are wanting to move towards this - more flexible in terms of architecture and development.

Conclusion 
         It is obviously clear that with web developers are increasingly using their talent and expertise for greater use. Open sources platforms gives developers ability to collaborate. Surely, crowdsourcing is the backbone that supports the community  and keep them growing. 

References : 

Rauch, J. ( 2015, June 1) Employers Are Crowdsourcing Coding: Here’s Why....Retrieved April 21, 2016 from Recruiter :https://www.recruiter.com/i/employers-are-crowdsourcing-coding-heres-why/

Knight, L. (2016, April 3) Crowdsourcing code: why startups are turning to open-source software...Retrieved April 21, 2016 form Wamda: http://www.wamda.com/2016/04/crowdsourcing-code-startups-open-source-software                                                                                                         

 By :Bijay Tamang