Twittamentary: Crowdsourcing a Project

This case study explores how Tan Siok Siok, a Singaporean filmmaker living in Beijing, crowd-sources the content, financing, and distribution outlets for her documentary about Twitter, using the micro-blogging platform itself. Crowdsourcing, according to professor of journalism, Jeff Howe, is “the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent, usually an employee, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.”

The Twittamentary website was launches in August 2009 with an invitation to “share a great story that answers the question: what is the most interesting thing that happened to you because of Twitter?” Twitter users from around the globe volunteer their anecdotes to shape the final story and also provide the resources to finance and distribute the film.

The case is designed to illustrate crowdsourcing, and can be used as the basis for introducing open innovation, as well as discussing leadership in a networked context. The case invites learners to analyse Tan’s decision to crowdsource her film, contrasts crowdsourcing as a decentralised approach to that of traditional filmmaking, and asks if social networks can be a source of resources.

Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop [at] smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.

Download Information

SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:

· The Case (SMU-11-0011)

· Teaching Note (SMU-11-0011TN)

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:

· The Case (SMU-11-0011)

· Teaching Note (SMU-11-0011TN)

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:

· The Case (SMU-11-0011)

· Teaching Note (SMU-11-0011TN)