Web agency Iconography looks to mix social networking and shopping

The beta site, Tribesmart, is currently arranged into a number of product categories, where people can list, rate and review products they have bought and used, and put a link to where it can be purchased.

Categories currently include fashion, technology, home, active and family, but it is possible more will develop as the site evolves. Eventually, it is thought that "fans" of certain products, such as Canon cameras or Apple, will form communities within the site.

It is being promoted via a Facebook application and on Twitter.

Tribesmart is described by Wayne Robbins, a director at Iconography, as a research and development project gone mad, growing out of experimentation for clients interested in how Web 2.0 works.

The site will be monetised from sponsorship, affiliate marketing and, down the line, direct sales from the site.

Robbins said: "Successful marketers of the future will understand the social web and the real meaning of interaction online is essentially interpersonal. These marketers will learn how to listen to and respond to these new communities of voices. They will recognise that the rules of the game have changed and the tectonic plates of B2C marketing and commerce have shifted."

Iconography's clients include Timberland and Merrell.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com