The web has changed a lot since I was a pre-teen fighting over my “turn” to use the computer, log on to a few chat rooms and maybe even play a low-res game or two.  Back then, I never would’ve imagined I’d make a career of it–I still wonder how I’ve managed to sustain this for the better part of a decade.

But after a chat with Ray Grainger, CEO of Mavenlink, I’m reminded of the great things the web has cultivated over the years.  And what’s most intriguing about Grainger’s company is its perspective on the human cloud.

The human cloud is akin to crowd-sourcing, something the web’s been getting better at for the past couple of decades.   But it takes things a few steps further, tapping into individuals’ work capabilities to break down just about anything—a project, company, or even a service.  More and more of us are working from home offices, or shared workspaces, with companies outsourcing various aspects of their human capital input.  I don’t mean a marketplace like ODesk or eLance, but a networked approach to accomplishing a common goal.

Grainger’s idea with Mavenlink was to bring consulting services into an online environment, targeting small to medium-sized businesses.  Founded two years ago, Mavenlink is a high-end approach to outsourcing, centered on project management and working with a trusted set of individuals.  This trust factor is key for Mavenlink’s network, maintaining the service’s integrity and ability to develop a system of referrals.

With Mavenlink, the ultimate goal is to minimize the risk of utilizing the human cloud, differentiating itself with its full-circle project management tools, allowing you to focus on conducting your business.  The concept of its centralized platform looks a bit like the unified approach the cloud industry is applying to its management tiers, so you can manage your team and your relationships, not the tool itself.

And as much as Mavenlink mimics many of the cloud concepts put forth by the industry’s major players, it turns to another aspect of the cloud to reach customers and grow its own business.  Mavenlink’s app in Google’s marketplace has fostered a surprising influence on the company’s ability to ease users into its service.  Starting with the familiar Google line of products, Mavenlink users were able to quickly adopt to a new environment, ultimately enabling them to work more efficiently.

Mavenlink’s Google enterprise app was key, Grainger tells me.  “We underestimated the impact this would have.  You want the relationships to be managed well, and we find that Google users are already used to working in this online environment daily.”  Wrapping applications around its tools to improve the business process, Mavenlink’s really been able to take off, thanks to this integration.  Networks like Mavenlink are going to become more prominent as the web and its platforms continue to evolve, reshaping the ways in which the human cloud can be tapped, networked and monetized.