When you can’t find something either in business or the social media realm, think about creating it yourself. If you can create it, think about starting a conversation that might cause others to create the thing collectively. This is the spirit of innovation.
First manned flight
[ Image from: http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/fly/1903/index.cfm ]
History is full of people who could not find what they’re looking for, and thus created what they needed. Think of people like the Wright brothers who were the first to create manned flight. Then there are the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of the world who have pioneered key developments in technology. Think about the guys who created the social networks, like Twitter for example. All these people had a “can do” spirit about them.
In the realm of business and social media, we can be every bit as an innovative as others. We just need to find out what is needed and create it; or cause it to be created. So what are you looking for that you cannot find for business or for your social media marketing? Maybe you are just the one to create what you’re looking for.
Here is an example of innovation dealing with Crime Stoppers. It’s my story… On how a guy from a little know place called “Truro” created a world impact. I hope it will encourage you to do great things.
Crime Stoppers had developed the means for people to leave a crime tip via the telephone to the different Crime Stopper programs. Special software was created to handle the information and get it to where it needed to go.
Later Crime Stoppers introduced the ability for people to text crime tip to these programs. But the one thing they had not thought about was putting Crime Stoppers on Facebook and providing a means of leaving a crime tip via Facebook. This door was about to be opened to them.
But first, let me give you some background information so that you can see that the necessary pieces were already in place. Crime Stoppers had a company, named Tipsoft, develop a secure web page for them, where people could leave a crime tip online. This web page was the ideal delivery system for crime tips because it provided more information to the Crime Stopper programs. The quality of the crime tip was better when the webpage was used.
The innovation happened when I saw the ability to connect the Crime Stoppers web page with a Facebook page. All I had to do was to create a Facebook app and put a button on it, that when clicked, would open up the Crime Stoppers “Tipsoft” web page. As result of this innovation, Crime Stopper programs throughout North America, and in many global locations, are using the Facebook “Leave a Tip” tab.
This was not a hard process to create. It just did not exist. I saw the need to provide Crime Stoppers with another means for people to leave anonymous crime tips. I connected the dots so to speak, and as result, crime tips have increased in some locations by over 1000%. This innovation has created greater success and safety in communities.
So the question I ask you is this… “What don’t you see at the moment that needs to be created?” Maybe you are just the right person to create what you’re looking for. Sometimes the process of creation is involved. Sometimes it is a simple process. But there are still opportunities of there to be innovative. Don’t say “I can’t”. Say “How can I do it”.
So let me close with this question… “If you cannot find what you’re looking for in the realm of business or social media, why don’t you think about creating it, if you can?” You might just find yourself being innovative.
