I ASK YOU TALK: What should I name my first child?

For those of you in marketing (like myself), there’s a hot new trend called crowdsourcing and everyone is doing it. The best definition I found for crowdsourcing was “consumers as creators” – consumers offer companies their ideas in hopes for some recognition and a prize, the companies hope the consumers are more engaged with their brands than they were before.

Examples:

• Netflix is offering a million dollars to team with the best algorithm that predicts what films members will like.
• American Airlines is offering 25,000 miles to the person who comes up with the best name for their new Facebook app.
• Threadless.com, a hipster t-shirt company, solicits designs and the highest rated ones get printed and sold.

Since I aspire to be on the cutting edge of marketing, I decided to test drive this concept (at my friend Rachel's birthday party) and crowdsource some important questions that I need answered in my life.

Name: Christina
Years in Dallas: 9 years
FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise? Fruity – it sounds healthy!
Where should I go on my next vacation? Thailand – for the fabulous beaches, great food, and it’s very affordable.
What should I name my first child? Alexander. You can call him Xander for short, which I think is so cool.

Name: Troy
Years in Dallas: 1 year
FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise? Betty’s – I like personalization
Where should I go on my next vacation? British Virgin Islands – you can go island hopping by sailboat.
What should I name my first child? Rachel – after the birthday girl, and only if she is born on August 7th

Name: Carrie
Years in Dallas: 1 year
FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise? Frozen Yogurt Store

Where should I got on my next vacation? Spain, Italy and Greece – my faves!
What should I name my first child? Carrie. It’s a good name.

Name: Gustavo, aka “Chino”
Years in Dallas: 4.5 years
FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise? FREEZE – because frozen yogurt is frozen.
Where should I go on my next vacation? Argentina – the exchange rate is 3 to 1 right now, and there are three distinct climates – hot, mild, and cold. The mild section has lots of nice wineries and it's where I'm from.
What should I name my first child? Facundo – it’s a sexy Argentinean name for a guy.

Four is not a crowd, so I also crowdsourced from this thing called the internets. Here are the best answers:

1. FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise?

• Fro Yo Sto!
• The Cream Pump
• Brrrrrr
• A Little Culture
• Sour Milk

2. Where should I go on my next vacation?

• Maui - so you can say Maui Wowee! (ed. note: Maui got multiple votes, but i've already been 2xs)
• Vancouver - a lot of history and the Olympics will be there next winter
• Ireland
• Pick a region of the country and drive to it - enjoy the journey, not just destination (ed. note: very deep!)
• St. Vincent - black sand beaches make for amazing sand castles

3. What should I name my first child?

• Lucas
• Roger
• Betty Jr.
• Brett Chung
• Barnaby
• 意
• Carvin Stone

The winners get a dinette set, and their answers posted on my blog! This crowdsourcing experiment was a success!