I stopped by one of my favorite local coffee shops this morning for an espresso and a bagel. I did not sleep well last night and needed to get awake before a 9 am appointment. I opened up my laptop, checked a few emails, and overheard some conversations between the shop owner and a few customers.
The first went something like “… I see you have a some new coffee choices”. The cafe owners response was “…we posted it upon our blog a few weeks ago and we hope our regulars will like the new blends.” The customer said he had read it on the blog recently and told him she liked the new item. He then gave the owner some green suggestions for future posts; the customer was sold on the re-cycling efforts of the business and was not shy in telling the owner how he should promote and Tweet about this aspect of the business.
About 5 minutes later another customer referenced some new pictures she saw on the coffee shops Facebook page. She and the owner joked about the political appropriateness of the shirt the barista was wearing in the pictures. By the time I checked out the page the pictures seemed to be gone. Publish first, edit later.
I was packing up my electronics, getting ready to leave when I overheard my final new media interaction. A geeky looking guy in a business suit was telling the barista that he was from out-of-town and always refers to Yelp before hitting coffee shops when visiting new cities. He cited one review that helped him make his choice.
I thought, whatever happened to “this coffee is too acidic”.
Not bad for 9 am on a Friday. All business paradigms are shifting.
Social media may just be caffeinated.
