Harnessing the Power of a Crowd with Richard J. Goossen

Chief Executive Officer, MakeGood.com

On March 10th, 2010 in Vancouver, BC, Richard J. Goossen, CEO of MakeGood and author of E-Preneur – from Wall Street to Wiki: Succeeding as a Crowdpreneur™ in the New Virtual Marketplace will be engaging the membership of the International Internet Marketing Association (IIMA) regarding the strategic concept of crowdsourcing. In preparation for this event, Charity Robertson, Director of Communications, IIMA, recently connected with Goossen and asked him to share his expertise and unique perspective on this topic. The interview gives you an opportunity to connect with Richard J. Goossen for an insightful discussion on harnessing the power of the crowd. The first 50 registrants to the event will also receive a complimentary copy of Mr. Goossen’s book.
 
Charity Robertson asked about the goals regarding Goossen’s presentation for March 10th, 2010.  Goossen responded by saying, “The gist of my presentation is that the notion of crowd power has real, tangible value for entrepreneurs. It is not just an interesting fad; instead, an entrepreneur should look at how they can tap into this interesting trend and apply it in a practical way. This can become a part of their competitive advantage or business model. In other words, I will talk about succeeding as a crowdpreneur in the current web environment.” For the full interview, please see the pdf attached to this post.
 
Mr. Goossen has focused on entrepreneurial strategy, finance and growth for over 20 years as a serial new venture founder, a strategic advisor to high growth companies, a lawyer, a researcher, an author, an educator and as a professional public speaker. Crowdsourcing is an act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an “open call” to a large group of people and asking for contributions. According to Michael J. Sikorsky, “Rick has one of the best brains to pick about being a successful entrepreneur. Now he’s taking on the how-to’s of crowdsourcing, too [in E-Preneur – from Wall Street to Wiki – Succeeding as a Crowdpreneur™ in the New Virtual Marketplace, Career Press, 2008]. It’s a must read for anyone who wants to harness the wisdom of crowds for their business!”

About Makegood.com
MakeGood acts as the bridge between the customers and businesses, enabling companies to display the positive things they are doing while publicly stating their commitment to social responsibility. Which is great for customers, because they can see what each company cares about and supports. With the MakeGood trustmark, businesses are able to communicate the causes they support simply and easily, without having customers leave their company page.

About the International Internet Marketing Association
The International Internet Marketing Association started in 1998 to bring marketers, agencies and professionals together to discuss the capabilities and potential of Internet marketing. It’s been over 10 years since our first event and our association remains focused on its original mandate – education. Each year, IIMA delivers a series of networking and speaking events hosted by subject matter experts, thought leaders, experts and panels of marketing practitioners.