Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining work, information, or opinions from a large group of people, usually via the internet, social media, and smartphone apps. The "crowd" in crowdsourcing is typically a third-party unrelated to the business seeking results. Crowdsourcing can involve a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services, including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances, for payment or as volunteers.

Crowdsourcing allows companies to farm out work to people anywhere in the world, tapping into a vast array of skills and expertise without incurring the normal overhead costs of in-house employees. It brings together communities around a common project or cause, promotes innovation and diversity, and keeps customers engaged. Crowdsourcing can be used to find solutions to all kinds of tasks, from small things like a band asking its fans which cities they should play on their next tour to ambitious projects like genetic researchers asking for help in sequencing the human genome.

Crowdsourcing is not limited to online activity, and there are various historical examples of crowdsourcing. The term "crowdsourcing" was coined in 2006 by two editors at Wired, Jeff Howe and Mark Robinson, to describe how businesses were using the internet to "outsource work to the crowd". Crowdsourcing allows anyone to participate, allowing for many unqualified individuals to contribute.

In summary, crowdsourcing is a way for businesses and organizations to obtain work, information, or opinions from a large group of people, usually via the internet, social media, and smartphone apps. It allows companies to tap into a vast array of skills and expertise without incurring the normal overhead costs of in-house employees. Crowdsourcing can be used to find solutions to all kinds of tasks and brings together communities around a common project or cause.