First came taking a task traditionally performed by an employee and outsourcing it to a specialist/independent contractor: project based relationships. And now the trend for businesses/campaigns/creative types alike is all about crowdsourcing.

Like user generated content, but more managed and with direction, tapping into resources provided by 'crowds' is so in and here to stay. Trendwatching and others have been experimenting with this for awhile now. And I am sure with some refinement, it won't be long before the resistance by agencies will end, and joining the bandwagon will be painless. After all, what is social networking anyway?

"Historically agencies want to be the source of creative ideas and output," writes Edward Boches in creativity_unbound. But they have to adapt or just wait "until they’re forced by clients to change."