Business

Monetizing the urge to recommend

Among the things given away freely by many Live Web participants during the holidays are unsolicited product reviews and gift buying advice. Is it possible to associate financial remuneration with such activity while still preserving the integrity of the recommendation process? If so, AttentionTrust may be among the first to chart the course, and open digital identity schemes will likely play a key role.

Written by Denise Howell, Inactive Dec. 8, 2006 at 6:15 a.m. PT

So, who will be the first to figure out the user credit model for things like StyleFeeder and ChickAdvisor (disclosure: I'm on the advisory boards of Top Ten Media and ChickAdvisor). During the holidays, the impulse to share the fruits of one's labor to locate the perfect gift, gear, or chatchke is especially apparent, particularly on the Live Web. Amazon recognized and built on this compulsion long ago. But the purely magnanimous aspect of the urge to share has its limits. How will socially networked shopping and recommendation sites broker relationships between users and vendors, while still preserving the trustworthiness of the assertions? My guess (and hope) is through the auspices of AttentionTrust (disclosure: I'm on the board) and its incorporated GestureBank.

Bonus links: Project VRM; Doc Searls on same.

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Monetizing the urge to recommend

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