The Fan-Driven Marketplace

Posted February 12th, 2009

Now that SwingVine is “Open”, we wanted to follow-up on our last post by sharing and reflecting more broadly on our vision. Fans have always played a part in the success of new products.  But whereas conventional word of mouth used to be the tool for individuals to popularize their favorite products, fans have more leverage than ever before through new channels such as blogs, social networks, YouTube, and review sites. SwingVine takes this to the next level. Whether it’s a favorite pair of jeans, energy drink, or song, the site lets fans broadcast their voice in a new way that integrates and amplifies previously existing channels.

As you might expect, the site lets you create pages for content you care about and load these pages chock-full of relevant information, multimedia, and user opinions. The site then surfaces this content to others based on popularity. What’s unique, though, is the ability to then follow friends and other influentials on the site, earn a reputation that increases your influence, and create “vines” connecting content together to drive awareness of your favorite things through communal and contextual ties. For example, an M.I.A. fan can add a vine between the page for Slumdog Millionaire and the page for the artist, describing her involvement in the movie soundtrack to build interest in the artist among those checking out the “in” movie.  This information is thus fed not only to that fan’s followers but to those interested in the film, allowing the fan to broaden her reach.

Is this crazy? We hope we’re combining the power of word of mouth, blogging, social networks, online video, and user reviews into a fun and effective promotion vehicle for fans, but we’d love to hear your thoughts. Fans have always been important but with SwingVine, they’re at the center of it all.