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 wa ...
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 Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
which was launched in mid-2008.
Crowdspring has faced ongoing criticism regarding its speculative business model, which involves asking designers and writers to submit completed work with no guarantee of payment unless their submission is selected. Critics argue that this practice can result in many contributors effectively working without compensation, despite Crowdspring collecting fees from clients.
In some cases, participants have expressed frustration with delayed or missing payments, further fueling criticism about fairness and transparency on the platform. Crowdspring has responded to such feedback by stating that they provide a global platform to connect creatives with businesses and offer opportunities to grow their portfolios.
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 corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and pr ...
. pp. pt232–233.
Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...
. pp. pt.110–111
Information WeekChicago TribuneInformation 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