Not only can you debug software using an intelligent crowd, but apparently you can also debug societal and ethical business problems. That's one thing you can take away from this open innovation project from Topcoder. It's a contest that aims to create software that can spot medicaid provider fraud from a mile away.

Now that crowdfunding is all the rage, we forget that not long ago it was a big dea to coordinate people to fund something online.  That's one thing you can see from this one group in 2010 who were impatient for a concert by their favorite music band in their country. It was a crowdfunding exercise aimed at generating enough funds to bring Glasgow based popular indie pop band, Belle and Sebastian, for a concert to Brazil. 

You've heard about the Pebble (which raised $10 million) & a few other successful smart watches hitting the crowdfunding scene lately, but have you heard about the one smart-watch that's for women & by women. This nice looking device can do a host of practical tasks for the fitness minded including telling your friends and family where you are (at all times via GPS) when you're out jogging, has a calorie counter & heart rate monitor, and comes with an alarm if you ever get stuck in a bad situation while out and about.

Last year, Nokia launched a worldwide brainstorming campaign to tap into new ideas for developing future apps for mobiles, and the program is still going strong today.

Did you know crowdsourcing is already changing the way the government makes decisions and policies, empowering the public and taking “We the People” to a whole new level?

SciFundChallenge.org, a science crowdfudning initiative, was started by a biologist and ecologist who wondered if they could effectively boost science funding with the emerging trend of crowdfunding. It turns out they need not wonder; they certainly can, and with help from the crowd, they did.

The effects of the current economic crisis have undoubtedly generated a feeling of distrust towards the banking industry. However, banks, such as HSBC and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) are now embracing crowdsourcing to rebuild that trust and openly collaborate with their customers and the public on new products and services, thus helping to rebuild the often damaged relationship between banks and their customers.

We all wonder, from time to time, how caring our friends & Neighbors really are, and we wonder what would happen to us in a time of need if all we had to rely upon was their goodwill. What would they do? What would they offer? Would they turn away if we asked for help? Well, I think that through crowdfunding, we have seen a glimpse at the reality behind a happy answer to these questions. Take a look for yourself in the video below.

Is it possible to make people obey rules by making it fun to do so? This avant-garde notion was actually put into practice by the Swedish National Society for Road Safety in Stockholm, Sweden & Volkswagen who implemented one of the winning ideas of last year's Fun Theory competition.

Why did Igor Vovkovinskiy receive almost $25,000 more than he asked for when he launched a crowdfunding campaign on March 6th 2012? It's because his campaign had only one simple goal, to get a pair of shoes that fit. Why couldn't he just buy them himself? Well, the shoes he needed were so large that there is no existing 'size' for them, and he needed them to be designed by footwear professionals.