David Fiske A subtle blend of affiliate marketing and web development

E-consultancy reported the launch of social shopping site Osoyou. The concept is that groups of friends can be formed around the topic of shopping, engaging in chat, sharing of opinions and the all important buying.

Here's what i think of the concept of social shopping sites.
 
I'm not one for social sites. I can understand why they have exploded in popularity but the fact of the matter is I still only use the forum part of A4U and steer away from everything else for example. It's not because I can't use them or don't understand how to use them. It's just I'm not interested in it.

I'm not registered with MySpace or FaceBook. I don't intend to register unless Google made me :-)

But I like the Osoyou ethic. I like the idea of creating a social site around a shopping base rather than wrapping a shopping widget around an existing social networking site.

The problem with the site for me at the moment is that the Flash adverts seem to be slowing the performance. Nevertheless, it still functions. According to e-consultancy, "Its users can sign in and create a profile page, join groups on the site, exchange messages with friends and create wishlists of desirable fashion items." (in a nutshell).

Naturally, everything is deeplinked so I'm sure it will make money. There are two startling details however. The first is that Brightstation Venture invested £1million this year. I'm not sure how much it costs to get something like this off the ground so I'm not sure if £1million is good or bad. Incidentally, anyone with a spare million pounds that needs investing, get in touch!

The second interesting detail is that it takes 9 members of staff to run it, which is presumably where part of the million pounds goes.

It was launched in September (as Beta) and doesn't appear to have any public stats such as registered members or number of groups.

Nevertheless, an ingenious idea and another step in the right direction I feel.