Comments on: So What Comes After Social Commerce?

By: Konstantin G.

Konstantin G. — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:48:32 +0000

Interest Graph + Commerce = Transactions http://t.co/EI4q8XjJ

By: Rajan Chandi

Rajan Chandi — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 16:19:49 +0000

Very timely article! The interest graph must be graded unlike ‘follow’ or ‘like’ which doesn’t indicate clear intent. Otherwise, it may end up as an information overload coming to my feed and which eventually becomes useless.

By: Paul Bryan

Paul Bryan — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:06:35 +0000

I think you’re right, Om, that interest graphs will provide businesses with important data that helps shape products. I also agree with Dr. Phil Hendrix that layering in location will dramatically boost relevance. In addition to interest graphs, I would like to see development in the area of decision graphs, i.e. actions rather than affinities, the opposite end of the funnel. IBM is heading down this path with its Smart Commerce offering (http://tinyurl.com/5tq5kxn). A decision analysis tool that cuts across channels (web, mobile, digital in-store) and layers (social, local) will help strategists plan campaigns and allocate resources accordingly.

By: Dr. Phil Hendrix, immr

Dr. Phil Hendrix, immr — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:52:29 +0000

Doc Searls’ Post on the Fragmentation, Limitations of Social Networks

Doc Searls recently posted a must-read, incisive critique of social networks and the limits on their usefulness in current form. Here are a few excerpts from “A sense of bewronging” (http://j.mp/h02zlr):

“’Social networks’ are getting out of control. And I don’t mean their control. I mean my control. Yours too.
I am not yet at… the point of integration for my own data. In fact I can’t be, because most of the data in these ‘social networks’ is not mine. Functionally, it’s theirs.
Organic searches are still what people want most… ‘social’ help is marginal at best and distracting at worst.
Buyers and sellers are no longer just cattle… we now need to prove something we’ve known all along: that free customers are more valuable than captive ones.”

Source: Doc Searls, A sense of bewronging, April 2, 2011 (http://j.mp/h02zlr)

By: Nadim Hossain

Nadim Hossain — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:13:15 +0000

In my view the Interest Graph will absolutely change commerce. We are this already in the social product reviews space. For example, if you’re a professional photographer shopping for an SLR camera on B&H, it really matters to you if you’re reading a review by a first-time amateur or fellow pro.

Where I have a different view than others on this thread, however, is that networks other than Facebook will soon become meaningful vessels for the Interest Graph. At PowerReviews (www.powerreviews.com) we’re betting that Facebook will continue to be the dominant player in both types of graphs. Time will tell of course.

For the largest multi-channel retailers, reality is complicated. Right now, leading brands and retailers would be ill-advised to start with any graph other than Facebook’s as a starting point.

And their focus–both with social and interest graphs–should be on driving traffic back to their e-commerce sites, above all else.

By: loriaustex

loriaustex — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 17:38:28 +0000

Hi, all – I might be the lone contrarian here. Boy, does it make me nervous to see the talent gathered in Om’s comments, and have a very different POV.

I think the deep opportunity for marketing is in the social graph, not the interest graph, and the opportunity is still largely untapped. Too much to explain/express in comments here, but I’ve posted something on my blog about it.

If you have time to stop by, please do let me know what you think, and what you think I’ve missed.
http://hauntedbymarketing.posterous.com/50669253

By: gammydodger

gammydodger — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:25:15 +0000

We have been thinking about the what comes next question for a while – and last year we extrapolated 3 scenarios – culminating in one where the ‘retailer’ as we understand them today didn’t exist. The ‘social’ aspect had evolved from following one’s friends (and their consolidated interest graphs that were used to drive recommendations to you) to a set of curated sites by ‘stars’ in their own field who curated their selection for you.

OneKingsLane (https://www.onekingslane.com/) and Aprizi (http://www.aprizi.com/) are examples of sites where selections are curated for you by experts. Sfgirlbybay (http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/) is a beautiful example of an individual curating her own style selection for followers of her blog.

We documented the scenario more fully here: http://www.realtea.net/retail_Christmas_Carol where the final scenario had commerce being seamlessly integrated with content from a trusted advisor.

By: mark

mark — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:53:07 +0000

very interesting article. seems like the direction that ringleadr.com is headed. should see big things out of them

By: Arnold Waldstein

Arnold Waldstein — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:48:05 +0000

My bet is that the interest graph will rise from a bunch of contextual vertical niches or moreso, in the connector links between the interest portals themselves. There are a bunch of small players who have a foothold here.

This is the wild west for certain and the next generation of super companies may arise from this. Some thoughts on the interest graph @ http://bt.io/GwkU.

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:40:30 +0000

Agreed. I don’t think there is any denying to the fact that unless properly managed this can get ugly pretty fast. I do believe that what separates interest graph from previous efforts of structured data mining is the element of time.

What I mean by that – the graph needs to have a “time” input built into it.