Jason Spector.com

One of the benefits of working from home is that I don’t always have to work from home. I can pack up my laptop, plug in my iHeadPhones and head off to the nearest wifi hotspot. In most cases, that takes me down the street to the local (non-Starbucks) coffee shop. I usually spend some of my “working” time observing the shop’s space, staff, customers and how they all interact.

On this particular day, I was wondering how the shop could bring in more customers. Specifically, how could crowdsourcing and social media help drive up their customer base. The following is one idea and the grand plan to achieve it.

Crowdsourcing, once an innovation by a few forward-thinking companies and organizations, has spread into a diverse industry of firms working in ideation, design, development, philanthropy, customer service, venture capital funding – you name it. Do a simple search for crowdsourcing and you’ll see how many have popped up in the few years.

Recently, a new player entered the arena – the companies themselves.

Anyone in the business of getting business for themselves (and others) has heard of the elevator pitch, that 5-30 second monologue/dialogue that gets you the big deal or the big fail. If you don’t have one, no worries. There are a multitude of blogs, articles, books, applications, consultants and unsolicited advice dedicated to the subject.

But what seems to be lacking in most of them is the tie in with social media. To be successful, your social bio needs to be as much as, if not more, of an elevator pitch as it is a personal brand. So in an effort to do justice to the real world and the online world, let’s take a look at both pitches – the elevator and the twittervator.

I’m often asked the question, “What makes a great community?” My reply back is usually, “What makes a great community for you?”. No, this isn’t my subtle way of dodging the question, but my subtle way of forcing the person asking into a bit of truthful introspection about who they are and what environments they flourish in.

Last week, I attempted to write an in depth, informative and knowledgeable welcome post about crowdsourcing, user experience, design and social media. And it failed miserably. By the end, I was simultaneously informed and bored. So I scrapped it. Tossed it into the trash of my Mac’s dock never to be heard from again. This week, I’m keeping it short and to the point (hopefully).