AdBhai is a new app for Orkut that hopes to provide social classifieds. The app basically provides a classifieds marketplace by leveraging your existing social graph on Orkut.
Here’s how it works. Say you want to buy a book and it so happens that one of the friends in your network has just finished reading his copy and is looking to sell it. The app will automatically notify your network contacts that you’re looking to buy the book. Your friend sees the notification and gets in touch with you about selling the book.
On first glance, the app seems to be a pretty great idea. However, there’re several shortcomings of this approach.
First, the reach of your classified ad is limited by how big your social graph is. So, for instance, if I just have 10 friends in my Orkut network, my classified ad will be seen only by them. Unfortunately, this doesnt really work well in a classifieds marketplace, where the goal is to have your ad to be seen by as many prospective folks as possible.
The second shortcoming of this approach is that success of the app is directly tied to virality of the app. As in, if I’m the only one who has installed the app in my friend network, there’s no point in using the app. This falls somewhat along the same lines as the argument above.
What do you think ?
1. The first shortcoming is not actually true. When someone posts an ad, the ad also gets posted in the App and on the website. So this works like any other classified site where everyone can see the add. The social aspect is that only the friends get a notification.
2. The above response applies to the second shortcoming also. Even if you are the only one in your network, all you friends will receive a notification even if they have not installed the App. Besides, there are thousands of regular users that visit the app and the website where your ads are going to be shown.
Hope this addresses some of the concerns. We would love to hear feedback for the users.
- Vinay
vinay,
if (1) is actually true, then the website / app needs to explain that a little more clearly — I really couldnt make that out from the site.
additionally, if all my friends are notified — even if they havent installed the app — i think that’s very obtrusive . Especially, considering that we often have people in our social graph who we’re not really friends with, but merely folks who got added to your network during the heyday.
Pranav,
everbody in your social graph is notified because that is a default orkut action. that is what makes the apps grow viral.
Pranav,
The obtrusiveness is controlled by Orkut by limiting only 1message per App per day if the user has not installed the app. So users do not get bombarded with ads if they have not installed the app. This way there is a balance between making the apps viral and being obtrusive.
- Vinay
Have you heard of Swinyx, its a new startup (classified website) that has lots of features and a new approach towards classified ads. On Swinyx you can link your YouTube account with just your username and easily select videos you wish to post into your ads (for the items you are selling), You could also display your skype status online (in real time) and allow people to call you thru skype by clicking on your status (on your ads’ pages)
You could post public events from your Google Calendar by just linking your gmail account too
Swinyx is pretty cool