Crowdmug: "Veni, Vidi, Vici" Goes Mobile

Crowdmug is the penultimate in crowdsourcing: a location-based, on-demand, almost real-time app for visual updates. The open commerce platform lets people see what specific spaces look like – for a fee.

• Meeting a client at a downtown hotel and need to see the lobby?
• Hot date at a new Bar or Restaurant that should be seen first?
• Vacation coming up and need to check out the competition on that particular stretch of beach?
• Want the latest Apple device now, but want to see just how long the line is?

“People need a simple way to get on-demand visual updates of places,” said Behzad Behrouzi, CEO and founder of Crowdmug. “With Crowdmug you can now see what the place you're heading to looks like, before you're actually there – all from the help of a community that benefits by making some extra cash.”

Users request media (photos or video) of a venue, indicate the number of photos or video requested, timeframe, and what’s on offer to be paid. The alert goes local and public. A person opts to respond and complete the request by uploading files to the app where they are archived and subsequently made accessible to everyone.

The location-based app is available for all U.S. cities on the iPhone. People receive their fee via PayPal or a snail mail check.

It’s a smart app in a burgeoning market. “Recently, mobile applications provider GetJar announced that the market for mobile device software programs will rocket to $17.5 billion within three years. Downloads of mobile applications will reach nearly 50 billion in 2012, up from slightly more than 7 billion in 2009. This represents a year-on-year growth rate of about 92 percent.”

Building an archive, one image at a time, paid for by individuals, and made available to the crowd is classic crowdsourcing. The only question that remains is whether enough Crowdmuggers will materialize to make it a thriving marketplace.