A new social media website based around recommendations, called Snoox, has launched, available online and as a Facebook app this week. The point of Snoox is to encourage us to follow the advice of our friends instead of complete strangers. But Steve Hurn, CEO at Cloud-based social commerce company Reevoo asks: should we put our faith in the recommendations of those closest to us?
The launch of yet another social media network shows not only the appetite for consumers to interact socially online, but also the jockeying within the industry in the race to monetise social engagement.
I think many people in the industry realise that online shopping is a natural tie-up with social, as consumers are already spending both time and money online, and there are already several business models out in the market, including daily deals sites and brand pages on Facebook, to name just two.
However, what is interesting here is that Snoox is built on ‘social recommendations’, and instead of following the recommendations of strangers, Snoox users will take the advice given of those closest to them, according to their Facebook network.
While a friend’s opinion is important, at Reevoo, we believe in the power of recommendations from ‘trusted strangers’ – it’s more beneficial to get advice from someone who has bought or used a product or a service, than from a friend, who may not have. Also these trusted strangers form a much bigger network to reach out to, giving consumers more chances to get opinions and reviews on what they are looking for.
By Steve Hurn
CEO
Reevoo
www.reevoo.com
