Thanks Apparel 1 for the invite to post about social shopping and the new conversation

A new conversation – social shopping and product discoveryAs Ray Davies famously sang in The Kinks classic, Lola, ‘…..it’s a mixed up muddled up shook up world …..’ and we think Ray was probably right.A new site, www.tribesmart.com has been launched which could well change the established dynamics between products, brands, distributors, retailers and the consumer.The weird thing is this new site is essentially an empty shell, a blank page.Sure it looks great, works well and is packed full of clever features and widgets – however apart from some generic product categories and initial product entries it is waiting to come to life.www.tribesmart.com is based on Web 2.0 principles – user generated content (that means you!), offering a social web platform which will be built, shaped and evolved by those who offer their opinions, knowledge and experience of products and brands and those who use this information for their purchasing choices.From this community of users, influencers and contributors, reviews, recommendations, favourite’s lists, product polls, and Facebook gizmos - new voices, connections and market dynamics will spark into life.Successful marketers of the future will understand the social web and the real meaning of interaction online is essentially interpersonal. These marketers will learn how to listen to and respond to these new communities of voices. They will recognise that the rules of the game have changed and the tectonic plates of B2C marketing and commerce have shifted.We believe from these conversations people will make new purchasing decisions that are well informed and based on the experience of others which they both seek and trust through the site.Taking it up a level, we believe across the social web new products will be discussed and conceived, new companies formed to produce them and new buying groups, distribution and retail opportunities will come in to being.We think a lot of this activity will be closely aligned to the communities which gave birth to them. The brands their values and the relationships will emerge from the various digital eco-systems where they evolved and grew.The age of old school marketing is nearing its end.Thanks http://www.tribesmart.co.uk