DISQUS

Brilliant! They are obviously making enough money to satisfy their needs for now and to focus on the user needs will only help to increase page views down the road. Thus, their untapped marketing revenue potential will only grow and grow. The skeptic in me says they will eventually cash in but the dreamer in me would like to believe that money is not their main driver. Sure would have been nice to sit in on that presentation as the suits jaws hit the floor at the revelation of a business not driven (well not totally at least) by the almighty dollar. Cool post!

Mathew,
Here at Dealarmy.com we are just getting into the affiliates programs. I see the posting of a link to an affiliate deal on one's site as something very different compared to writing a blog entry endorsing a particular product or service. Do you agree?

Pete,

I enjoyed the post. I wanted to focus my comment on your statement that read "...but the simple fact is that social sites need a critical mass of users before they become useful...". I am co-founder of a site named Dealarmy.com. From what I read above I can see that we offer many of the same things as Deals.com with the exception of a few key features - check out our Request A Deal feature that puts the power of the people to work for you like no other feature I have seen on the net - but we are having trouble getting to that all important critical mass.

Any advice for the up and comers to build traffic and compete against all the 800 pound gorillas roaming the jungle?

I feel strongly that social networks can lend themselves to a shopping based website. To speak to Phillips question above, I believe that you let the members upload deals as they see fit as this leads to deals stored on a site that the members actually care about. It also helps to further strengthen the sense of community, which is what will ultimately be the lifeblood of these type of sites.

My business partner, John, and I have developed a site that we believe will offer members a solid community experience and provide a practical shopping resource. We also have a few unique features that should add to our utility quotient. Check us out at www.dealarmy.com.

Tom

Cool article. I am entuhsed to see the potential for social shopping sites. I agree with this potential. I am co-founder of a SS site (www.dealarmy.com) that hopes to harness the power of the community to help members make better informed purchase decisions. The biggest problem we're having is building critical mass. A catch 22 situation I guess. Need members to build a community but need the community to make the site useful/powerful enough to attract new members. Honestly, I am a little bummed to hear MySpace et al are considering venturing into this realm. With their member base they are like the 800 pound gorilla in the room. They can squash a lot of up and comers if they so choose. Ah well! No one said it would be easy.