Jason Spector.com

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with fellow Pittsburgher, twitter pal and social media maven Michelle Chmielewski, otherwise known as the The Observing Participant.

We discussed many topics about crowdsourcing and social media, but the focus was primarily on how successful crowdsourcing coincides with a healthy respect for the “Three C’s” – the Client, the Crowd and the Competition.

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.

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.

When you’re a designer first starting out, you work hard (as you should) to present yourself as a professional. You pump up your resume with “work” you’ve done, stack your portfolio with class projects & neighbors’ websites and practice your elevator pitch until it’s just right – all in the hopes of landing that first job or that first batch of freelance clients. Now you’re feeling good and ready for the “real world” of professional design. I hate to break it to you, but no, you’re probably not.