Feifei Hello, this is The English We Speak with me Feifei…
Rob …and hello, it’s me, Rob.
Feifei Ermm, Rob. What are you doing?
Rob Just preparing some biscuits for my new business.
Feifei Are you planning to sell biscuits?
Rob Well, ot any old biscuits, Feifei – Rob’s Amazing Crunch and Crumble Biscuits. This is my new career!
Feifei You’re going to need some help if you want to launch a new biscuit business.
Rob Hmmm, yeah, you’re right. Maybe you could help me put them in boxes?
Feifei No, Rob. You need more help than that – you need crowdsourcing.
Rob Oh right, is that some kind of magic ingredient to put in the biscuits?
Feifei No! Crowdsourcing is when you ask groups of people 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…
Examples
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.
Feifei 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.
Rob So, Feifei, where do I find people to ask for help?
Feifei 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.
Rob 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.
Feifei Rob, crowdsourcing involves more than just your mum. You need to speak to lots of people.
Rob Oh crumbs! Maybe I’ll stick with this presenting job for a little bit longer. Do you fancy a biscuit?
Feifei Thanks.
Rob Bye.