In a crowd, anyone in the large group can choose to undertake the task, like for instance submitting a t-shirt design to Threadless. All forms of virtual collective intelligence need to include this crowd factor at some point in the process. The crowd gene taps into a much larger pool than the hierarchy gene. However, the crowd gene does not work under all conditions. It is most useful when (a) many people have the tools/skills necessary to perform the task, or you don’t know who has these tools/skills, (b) tasks can easily be divided into pieces (necessary info can be shared, sabotage can be avoided), and (c) crowds have more motivation, or can do things cheaper/faster/better.