Online auctions for goods are plentiful, thanks to eBay and all the others it has inspired. It was only a matter of time before experiences got an auction of their very own.
To be fair, American Express tried out an auction for experiences a few years ago that was known as Blue Play, but that's since been disbanded. Instead, we now have Sweemo, a brand-new UK-based site that allows users to buy, sell, swap and request exciting experiences—or "sweet moments," after which it's named. Sweemo lets those with access to exclusive experiences open those experiences up to everyone, connectinge—as the site puts it—"those who have with those who want to." Experiences are listed in five main categories—entertainment, adrenaline, lifestyle, travel and groups—and they range from a beauty makeover with TV presenter Sarah Cawood (priced starting at GBP 56) to a day of extreme speed sailing on the Hugo Boss for GBP 12,000. Shopping for experiences is free, and users get a profile page where they can track details about experiences that have interested them as well as leave comments and rate experiences they have already won. For those with experiences to offer, listing fees are based on the starting price and begin at GBP 1.50; closing fees range from 1.5 percent to 5 percent of the final selling price. Sellers can also rate those who have bought from them.
Jay Nguyen, managing director of Sweemo, explains: "Sweemo gives everyone the opportunity to access special experiences that simply aren't available in any other marketplace. We are motivating and inspiring people to recognise the incredible experiences within their own lives and making them available to others. They can be weird, wild or wonderful—so long as they can be enjoyed."
Yet another business idea that should appeal to consumers who are driven by experiences, also known as transumers. (Related: Experience stores.)
Website: www.sweemo.com
Contact: info@sweemo.com
Spotted by: Brand Republic via Alice Feith
Who would have thought dancing could become such a widespread force in combating global warming? After covering a Dutch dance-powered nightclub back in 2006, we wrote just the other day about the Orange Dance Charge for charging cellphones. Now, dance energy has popped up again in the form of an eco nightclub that's slated to open next week in London.
On July 10, Club4Climate, an eco group led by real-estate magnate Andrew Charalambous, will launch a new sustainable nightclub at Bar Surya in King’s Cross. In addition to using a dance floor that captures enough energy to supply 60 percent of its power needs, the club will require that all patrons sign a pledge to help fight global warming; it will also waive the GBP 10 admission fee for those who can prove they travelled there by foot, bicycle or public transport. Low-voltage lighting and recyclable materials will be used throughout the club, which will reportedly also serve organic spirits in polycarbon cups and employ a recycled-water system for flushing the toilets. Club4Climate hopes to open similar sustainable dance clubs in New York, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro, and has partnered with gap year organization Projects Abroad for the manpower to do that, according to its site. Part of Club4Climate's profits will be donated to Friends of the Earth, though it should be noted that that connection appears to be tenuous at best: A disclaimer on the site notes that "Friends of the Earth in no way supports or endorses the activities of Club4Climate, but we're going to give them the money anyway." According to the Evening Standard, FoE has turned down Club4Climate's donations in the past because it appeared to encourage international flights.
Air-travel issues notwithstanding, Club4Climate's sustainable nightclub will be well-worth watching as yet another example of the dance-powered trend. One to partner with—or emulate?
Website: www.club4climate.com
Contact: info@club4climate.com
Spotted by: Daily Mail via RK
Deciding when and where to go out on a Friday night just got easier for San Francisco consumers with a new, mobile map application that automatically shows where the hotspots are.
Sense Networks' CitySense, which just entered alpha, gives users a real-time view of how busy the city is as well as where the busiest places currently are. There's no need to sign up—users simply download the free application onto their Blackberry (iPhone support is coming soon) and view a "heat" map of activity throughout the area, linking to Yelp or Google to zero in for more information about the hotspots. A billion points of GPS and wifi positioning data from the last few years complement the real-time feeds underpinning the technology, which operates on Sense Networks' Macrosense platform. (Macrosense, which is designed for analyzing massive amounts of aggregate, anonymous location data in real-time, is already being used in the business world for selecting store locations and understanding retail demand, for example.) Focusing on nightlife, the next version of CitySense will be able to tell users not just where the activity is, but where people like them are concentrated. By tracking and comparing users' history and preferences, it will be able to show them where they're most likely to find people with similar tastes at any given moment. As a result, each person's nightlife map will look a little different, and will display a unique top hotspot list. (The personalized feature is optional, however, and any such data can be deleted at any time, the company promises.)
Privacy issues aside, it seems safe to say that this is just the beginning of the mashups made possible by GPS-enabled cellphones. How long before this comes to other cities—and gets ad support?
Website: www.citysense.com
Contact: contact@citysense.com
Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz
Around the world, the number of people aged 65 and over is expected to almost double in the next 22 or so years, going from just over 500 million now to just under a billion in 2030, according to the US Census Bureau. Little wonder, then, that a brand-new health and wellness store in Lyon, France, has set its focus squarely on seniors.
Whereas many existing senior-focused merchants tend to focus on disabilities—ElderDepot.com is one example—HOJO offers a more holistic variety of about 400 lifestyle products dedicated to keeping senior citizens happy, healthy and independent for as long as possible. Inspired by Spain's SeniorStore, HOJO groups its products into categories including wellness and health, daily living, leisure and comfort, communication and security, and they go far beyond disability aids to include aromatherapy treatments and stylish salt and pepper balls designed for one-handed use, for example. On a brick-and-mortar level, the company's Lyon shop is tailored to its target with such features as wider aisles, price tags with larger lettering, and a staff trained in senior issues. It also offers one-off events for seniors on such topics as massage, cooking and computers. HOJO hopes to expand to cover 35 French cities with franchised shops within the next five years.
There's no denying the sheer force of the numbers behind this demographic, and it's a remarkably underserved market so far. Mark our words: address senior citizens' needs in a positive, empowering and pampering way, and you'll see some impressive numbers yourself! (Related: One-stop shopping for wellness.)
Website: www.hojo-generationseniors.fr
Contact: contact@hojo-generationseniors.fr
Spotted by: Déborah Bianchetto
Much like LocoMatrix, which we wrote about earlier this year, Swinxs is a new gaming system that encourages kids to get active and play outside.
Swinxs offers a variety of games for kids ages 4 and up, all downloadable for free from the Netherlands-based company's website. Included are traditional games like hide and seek as well as educational quizzes and games focused on adventure. Players wear colourful RFID wrist bands with microchips that communicate with the Swinxs console to start games and keep track of the player's personal profile and scores. The Swinxs console talks (multiple languages are possible) and can explain games, as well as refereeing, cheering and keeping score. It can be used both indoors and out, and it runs on a long-lasting battery for enduring fun in the park, beach, garden or playroom. On the Swinxs website, meanwhile, new games, music and listening activities are available for download, and personal pages store player details such as scores, participants and games played. A software development kit (SDK) is also available that lets players or third parties create their own games for the system. Launched in April, Swinxs is currently available at The Beehive in Holland; pricing is EUR 149.95 including console, 4 wrist bands, USB cable, adapter and seven pre-installed games. A video on YouTube demonstrates the game in action.
As developed nations continue their battle against childhood obesity, active games like Swinxs will increasingly have the support of parents and medical communities around the globe. One to bring to the rest of the world!
Website: www.swinxs.com
Contact: info@swinxs.com
Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
Earlier this year we wrote about a few members' clubs for moms in the London area, and now a similar South African contender has added a networking twist.
Based in Johannesburg, Triba aims to give mothers physical and mental well-being by providing them with the time, space and resources they need to take care of themselves, seven days a week. Before that can happen, of course, their children must be well taken care of—something Triba assures through classes, childcare, swimming, hair care and even basic pediatric services like vaccination by the on-site nurse. Thus freed up to attend to their own needs, mother members have access to spa, hair, sleep and exercise offerings, along with a cafe, library and quirky retail store; concierge service is coming soon. Triba's conference space features workshops, courses, seminars and presentations designed to uplift, empower, motivate and inform women, while a dedicated office space--much like the work spaces for freelancers we've featured before--is set aside for women to catch up on their admin, surf the internet or otherwise take advantage of the centre's wifi. Perhaps most interesting of all, though, are Triba's recruitment services, through which the Triba team will tap into its network of members both to help mothers find work and to facilitate networking opportunities for consultants or self-employed women who want to promote their services. Membership fees at Triba begin at ZAR 280 per month for a mother plus one child.
Triba says it's planning to expand around South Africa, but as we've noted before, there are few geographical limitations on the market of moms around the world in need of a space to call their own. One to bring to the legions of time-, sleep- and sanity-starved mothers near you!
Website: www.tri-ba.com
Contact: info@tri-ba.com
Denmark's summer Roskilde Festival is one of the largest annual music festivals in Europe, with some 75,000 attending each year. In honour of this year's event—which officially kicks off July 3—jeans company Diesel has created a limited-edition line of jeans specially designed to withstand the rigours of summer festival fun.
Priced at EUR 161, the dark-blue Roskilde Festival Jeans are available for both men and women, and feature the Roskilde logo emblazoned on the hip. A specially treated commercial denim base, meanwhile, is designed to stand up to rain and mud, which were present in copious amounts at the festival last year. The jeans are available only from the official Roskilde shop—alongside jackets, caps and other promotional items the festival sells itself—or in select Diesel concept stores. Reportedly, only 1,000 pairs are up for sale, making planned scarcity part of the appeal.
Summer music festivals are an ideal place for companies to get closer to their customers, who naturally tend to be relaxed and happy at such events. By creating its own, unique festival product, though, Diesel forges a tangible connection that goes far beyond anything advertising or sponsorship could likely achieve. One to emulate!
Website: www.roskilde-festival.dk/2008/forside/shop/
Contact: info@rfshop.dk
Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
Last November we wrote about Jay Parkinson, MD, the physician who's become synonymous with Web 2.0-enabled medicine. Now the good doctor is receiving a fresh round of media attention for his involvement in a broader platform that's designed to bring the benefits of technology and transparency to physicians and patients far and wide.
In a new development, Parkinson has teamed up with Myca, a Canadian provider of health technology, to develop Hello Health, a technology platform that's designed to open intelligent channels between patients and doctors. Hello Health aims to improve the delivery of medical services to consumers by incorporating video, voice and data communications across multiple platforms and channels, including mobile phones and PCs; documenting and archiving records and communications for round-the-clock online availability; and integrating remote monitoring devices, among other services. In marketing terms, it will be a friendly, branded consumer experience with the neighbourhood doctor, Parkinson says. Once the platform is launched—it's due soon in Brooklyn, with the rest of New York City to follow—consumers will create an account and become a member for a range of Netflix-priced monthly fees. They'll be able to make appointments online and be seen at home, in their offices, or at Hello Health's offices. All their records will be online and available whenever they need them, as will all communication with Hello Health doctors. The price, Parkinson says, will be "less money than a 4-minute visit with your old doctor who practices in the 20th Century." A preview of the platform is available on YouTube, and patients and doctors alike are being recruited to get involved in the new platform.
Parkinson stopped seeing new patients officially at the beginning of this year to work on Hello Health, but will resume his practice in mid-June, when Hello Health launches. "It’s Geek Squad with doctors and a Netflix-priced monthly membership subscription fee — it is a branded healthcare 'experience' that mixes 'concierge service for all' with house/office calls and web visits via email, IM, video chat, and text messaging," Parkinson told The Efficient MD. "It’s Fed Ex, Apple, Whole Foods, Amazon, Toyota, Fresh Direct, and Geek Squad all applied to healthcare delivery." Indeed, Hello Health has the potential to turn the current paradigm on its ear, transforming US medicine as we know it.
Website: www.myca.com/hello_health
Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
