Crowd sourcing is a business phenomenon I have touched on in previous posts with services such as Designcrowd where users can create an auction for their design and the best design wins the bid. This technique uses mass talent sourced across the world to deliver best of breed design and results for your project.
“Groupons” is a concept that uses this idea with a different angle. Retailers can offer discounts, but only if a sufficient number of buyers form a “purchasing collective” that will drive enough sales volume to justify price reductions on purchases. What goes with this concept is a site that encourages people to sign up and group together with common interests to get these volume discounts. This article covers this concept and offers a number of examples.
Rick Speciale
http://www.xeesm.com/speciale