社交网络过度分享风潮中蕴藏的商机

    RNKD的存在目的多少有点相似——根据信息分享，是消费者与公司实现配对。该网站由鞋类销售网站Zappos创始人尼克•斯威姆打造，希望吸引用户上传其服饰的照片，并配以详细信息。如此，用户们可以凭借其品牌忠诚度获得类似于地理定位网站Foursquare的“徽章”，比如“最佳球鞋收藏者”或“耐克（Nike）第三大拥趸”之类。“如果用户分享现在已有的服饰，它们能极佳地表明他们喜欢什么类型。”斯威姆表示，2006年他离开了Zappos，但并未脱离服装业务，而是打造了Dethrone服装品牌。他认为，RNKD对服饰消费者和销售者同样具有吸引力，因为他希望服饰品牌会提供一些特别优惠，给予忠诚消费者；而对服饰企业自身来说，该网站提供的学习机会也很有价值。例如，J.Crew公司可以发现，其顾客群体中受欢迎度排行第二的到底是什么品牌。

    他也认识到风险所在。“我们可能会发现，没人愿意分享他们衣橱里的内容，”他说。“但我认为他们将来会的。”当然，有些时尚前卫的消费者本来就喜欢分享衣橱里的各种服饰，他们肯定不会有什么顾虑。乔治城大学（Georgetown University）大四学生卡莉•黑特灵格尔开有一个称为“大学富二代”（The College Prepster）的博客。她每天早上都会发一张照片，展示自己当天穿的衣服。据她透露，籍此竟能每月吸引近15万独立访客。她认为，这在当今时尚界没有什么稀奇的。“如果你一个月前问我，我可能会告诉你，像RNKD这样的主意永远都不会成功。可是，这个行业时时刻刻都在演变不息。如今人们在个人博客中分享一张照片后，可能五分钟之内就会突然走红。”

    两家公司存在的问题也不难发现。就Identified而言，其排名系统肯定会遭到批评：某个公立大学毕业并在不那么知名的公司工作过的人士，往往比金光闪闪的哈佛大学（Harvard）毕业生更适合某项工作。就RNKD而言，它必须依赖服饰品牌的配合才能生存：如果这些品牌向其最忠诚顾客提供的奖励不够丰厚，分享照片的动力就会化为乌有。更严重的是，此前类似的想法都遭遇了滑铁卢。曾有一款称为Blippy的应用，它与用户的信用卡挂钩，使其可以分享用户的购物信息。它一度吸引了媒体的热烈关注，但最终却销声匿迹。

    两家公司都还面临着一个更大的挑战：到底有没有足够多的人愿意分享从学业成绩到平角内裤品牌的一切信息？已经与这两家网站建立合作关系的企业显然希望如此。如果所谓“过度分享”的观念进一步淡薄，这两家创业公司都有机会获得长足的发展。

    译者：小宇

    RNKD aims for something similar, pairing consumers with corporations based on sharing of information. Created by Zappos founder Nick Swinmurn, RNKD expects users to upload photos of their clothing and tag them with detailed information. By doing so, they can earn Foursquare-like badges for certain allegiances like having the best sneaker collection or being the third-most loyal to Nike (NKE). "If you share what you already own, it's the best indicator of what you like," says Swinmurn, who after leaving Zappos in 2006 stayed in apparel, creating the clothing line Dethrone. His notion is that RNKD could appeal to both buyers and sellers of clothing, because consumers will want the special deals that he hopes brands will offer, and brands will love the learning opportunity. For example, J.Crew (GPS) could find out which brand is second-most popular among its customers.

    He knows the risks. "We could find out that no one will ever share what's in their closet," he says. "But I think they will." Certainly fashion-forward shoppers that already do share their wardrobe will have no qualms. Carly Heitlinger, a Georgetown University senior, runs a blog called The College Prepster that she says gets nearly 150,000 visitors per month. She posts a photo every morning of her outfit and says that's nothing unusual in today's fashion scene: "If you asked me a month ago, I would have told you an idea like [RNKD] never would have worked. But it's an industry evolving on a minute-by-minute basis. Now someone can upload a photo on a personal blog and in five minutes it could be highly popular."

    Each company has foreseeable issues. With Identified, the ranking system is bound to be criticized: someone who went to a state school and worked at a lesser-known company is often a better fit for a job than the sparkling Harvard grad. For RNKD, the onus is on participating brands: if the rewards they offer to their most loyal consumers aren't very good, the impetus to share photos is gone. What's more, similar ideas have failed. Blippy, an app that connected to users' credit cards to share info on their purchases, grabbed headlines only to end up going nowhere.

    Both businesses face a larger challenge: Will enough people be willing to share everything from academic awards to the brand of boxers they wear? The corporations that end up involved with these sites hope so. And if the very concept of over-sharing continues to fade away, both startups could stand to gain a lot.