Jason Spector.com

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.

While doing some well-deserved offline exploring in the historic district of Savannah, GA last week, I came across this sign. My initial interest was in its obvious historical significance, but I soon noticed this little known fact:

Like Benjamin Franklin, fellow crowdsourcer Mike Martoccia is always ready with a quick piece of advice. During one of our many discussions about business, future trends, crowds and anything else that fascinates us, he threw this out to ponder:

Driving down the east coast to South Florida provides its own unique set of observations, experiences and challenges. During a recent family road trip, I found myself looking at the standard geographic differences and weather changes as well as enjoying some southern hospitality. But it also occurred to me how much we can learn from these local businesses.