Prominent trends in today's online (and business) climate are personalization and socialization. Everyday new social networks pop up that let you create a personal profile and connect with people; magazines and newspapers let you specify areas you're interested in to provide you appropriate content; amazon and other shopping sites provide you with suggestions of things you might like based on what you previously looked at.... Everywhere sites want to make you feel special and present things that appeal specifically to you. Many companies no longer want to simply do business with customers, they want to get to know you, have you fill out a cozy profile, and market items to you more successfully: the online world only enhances this opportunity. And why not? As a consumer, it's great to easily find items that appeal to you, and besides, a more friendly, sociable connection only enhances that experience. As a business, your results will be more targeted, your customers will have a more enjoyable experience and you can predict user behavior to a greater degree.
Like today I came across a shopping site called http://www.stylefeeder.com. The concept is similar to http://www.kaboodle.com, you basically discover products from people with similar styles, and you get to rate each item and pass the word on about your experience and impression. When I first went to stylefeeder, they presented a few pictures and asked me to click on those which represented my interests (such as clothing, food, travel etc). Next, they displayed even more pictures based on the ones I just selected, and asked me to click on the ones that appealed to me the most.
Now, this website will have a good knowledge of my interests and style, and can easily match my preferences with other items as well as with other people who have similar likes. This site also got me on another point: it's a lot of fun to visit other users on their system that apparently share my taste and see what they have bought and what they recommend. This shopping experience just turned social and very customized. And if I actually find products I really like, it's very likely I'll come back.
These trends of personalization and socialization are still quite new and have only spread so far. I bet there are still many areas where these methods can be incorporated. After all, we are all social beings and we all like to feel special and be more efficient in our lives. If customized preferences provide you with a better experience, it's a win-win situation. Where do you think these ideas will be applied to next? Can you incorporate them into your business or into your life?
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