ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

Ref. No.: OB0016

ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons?

“Online shopping is more accurately described as purchasing, because it’s so directed and goal-specific.
You might be looking for a plasma screen TV, but there’s not a lot of lateral thinking about what else you
might be interested in. We want to show people other products that wouldn’t make sense for an e-tailer
to batch together.”1
– Gordon Gould, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ThisNext.com

Guided by the vision of ‘buy better to live better’ Gordon Gould (Gould) and Craig Ogg (Ogg)
formed ThisNext.com (ThisNext), a social shopping website, in 2006. Combining the benefits of
social networking and online shopping, ThisNext serves as a platform where people could discover
unique products. The company is driven by volunteer workers who act as recommenders on the
company’s website, guiding online shoppers in their purchase decisions. Using the company’s
‘dog-eared stickers’ (stickers used by the company’s recommenders to write catchy taglines for
product promotion), these members are also allowed to post back these product recommendations
on their blogs or websites. Recommending on ThisNext has helped these members to build their
digital identity. However, despite having numerous user-friendly features, its members have to
undergo a software downloading process every time they wish to capture a product image. In an
overcrowded market, will ThisNext be able to distinguish itself solely on its product recommendations?
Further, with the economy facing a downturn, will ThisNext be able to count on a dedicated army of
volunteer workers?

ThisNext.com: The Social Shopping Website

Founded in 2006 by Gould and Ogg, ThisNext emerged as a product discovery and social shopping
network in the US. This website served as a platform for the millions of online shoppers to explore
new and innovative products, which they would not have otherwise known.

1
Tedeschi Bob, “Like Shopping? Social Networking? Try Social Shopping”, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/technology/
11ecom.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin, September 11th 2006

This case study was written by Deepti Srikanth and Vara Vasanthi, under the guidance of Dr. Nagendra V. Chowdary, IBSCDC. It is
intended to be used as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management
situation. The case was compiled from published sources.

© 2009, IBSCDC.
No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced or distributed in any form or medium whatsoever
without the permission of the copyright owner.

Background Reading: Chapter 7, “Motivation Concepts”,

Organizational Behavior, Stephen P. Robbins, et al., (12th edition)

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 ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

Further, it encouraged bloggers and Internet users to make product recommendations using its
website. Gould asserted, “People buy on a discovery basis. Most of the time they don’t know what
they’re going to buy when they start looking. Social shopping gives power back to the consumers by
recognising that everyone can be a connoisseur and giving them a platform for contribution and
discovery.”2 Using a simple log in method, bloggers can create their personalised space on the company
website, comprising an overview of their likes and dislikes coupled with a catalogue of recommended
products (Annexure I).
Interestingly, in the real world, shopping is regarded as a social activity with customers relying
heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations while making purchase decisions. According to a survey
conducted by Forrester Research (a market research firm), more than 30% consumers rely on
recommendations from family and friends while making a purchase decision.3 Additionally, 56%
consumers regularly inform their friends and family regarding the products that are of interest to
them.4 Malte Goshe, chief executive and co-founder of iliketotallyloveit.com, a social shopping site,
said, “We believe that peer-to-peer recommendation is already essential in e-commerce because
shopping is a social and emotionally driven experience.”5
However, unlike in the real world, shopping and discovering new products online, in the absence of
any reliable source, is a challenge. Gould said, “There are 60 million plus consumer products out there.
How can you find stuff that is good for you? Google is great if you know what you want (i.e., search)
but not great if you have only a general idea (i.e., discovery)…”6 Further, these time-constrained online
shoppers are unable to find a one-stop destination that would solve all their shopping needs. Sucharita
Mulpuru, an analyst, highlighted, “The online shopping population is more affluent and less price-sensitive.
They’re busy and time-starved and looking for solutions on the Web.”7
Realising this limitation, ThisNext plunged into the social shopping arena, connecting online shoppers
with hard-to-find products, while allowing them to benefit from the product suggestions made by its
members. Gould said, “If you’re the go-to guy for buying Kona coffee, I want to find you, not a
generalist.”8
ThisNext attracts an army of volunteer workers, allowing them to log in and create shopcasts (a
catalogue of recommended products, services or activities), which serve as a personalised product
playlist, which other people may use to make their purchase decision. These recommended products
are accompanied by a brief yet fascinating description, targeted at arousing the interest of the online

2
Harkin Fiona, “The Wisdom of Crowds”, http://xinkaishi.typepad.com/a_new_start/2007/10/page/2/, October 19th 2007
3
“Bazaarvoice Launches Ask & Answer™ to Help Customers Research Products Online”, http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/
google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070514005656&newsLang=en, May 14th 2007
4
“Bazaarvoice Launches Ask & Answer™ to Help Customers Research Products Online”, op.cit.
5
Harkin Fiona, “The Luxury World After Web 2.0”, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9bc1724c-de90-11dc-9de3-0000779fd2ac.html,
February 19 th 2008
6
“Interview with Gordon Gould, ThisNext”, http://www.socaltech.com/interview_with_gordon_gould__thisnext/s-
0005023.html, August 22nd 2006
7
“Fashion Tips Social Shopping Sites”, http://en.laluvirtual.web.id/entertainment/fashion-tips-social-shopping-sites.html,
November 26 th 2007
8
“Like Shopping? Social Networking? Try Social Shopping”, op.cit.

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 ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

shopper. Using the company’s ‘dog-eared’ stickers, the members are allowed to attach a catchy
phrase, which appears along with the product’s image, further captivating the online visitors (Exhibit
I). Online shoppers can visit the shopcasts of various recommenders, make online purchases and
even rate the product catalogue of these recommenders. Additionally, using the ‘activity maps’ feature,
it is possible to view the products being purchased on ThisNext, across the globe (Annexure II).

Exhibit I
ThisNext’s Business Model
Steps Details

The ‘Recommend Products’ link on the upper right,

above the search box, will take you to a screen where
you can either paste a link, or drop the ‘Add to
ThisNext’ button into your browser bar.
‘Click on a graphic to select’, is the representation
image of the product you are recommending.
Below this area, it will ask you to include a description
of the product, and why you decided to recommend
it. Most, if not all of the members (even the seasoned
ones) on ThisNext will typically include a brief but
captivating 3–5 sentence description (no more, no
less) of the product and their opinion. The strategy
here is to entice curiosity and clicks.
ThisNext supports comma-separated tags. As usual,
whatever tags are used become a part of the big
picture – a massive collection of tags shared by
everyone else who used them. Recommenders
should try to use tags to their advantage, as they’ll
serve as an additional search option for customers
looking for certain items. Another good strategy is to
get one’s product recommendation into as many tag
categories as possible.
ThisNext’s whole ‘branding’ schema includes those
little dog-eared Web 2.0 stickers (you’ll see them all
over the site). Each product that is recommended can
have a sticker stuck on it, with a 10-character phrase
of one’s choice. Stickers will then appear on the
product image that is chosen from step 1, further
adding some character to the overall picture. Stickers

Contd...

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 ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

appear on the product reviews that have been

submitted on the member ’s list of
recommendations. It’s not much, but definitely a
fun way to draw attention to something. Think out
of the box and use a funny or click-engaging
word.
Any item sold through the member’s ‘Shopcast’
(a badge showcasing a single review that you can
place on your blog) or ‘List’ (much like an
Amazon.com Listmania – a group of products
you showcase) will be tagged with their affiliate
programme ID.

Compiled by the author from “Get More Sales Exposure with ThisNext.com”, http://www.squidoo.com/thisnext

Products reviewed on ThisNext range from commonly discussed items like iPods and music CDs
to bizarre articles like tattoo-covered pigs and necklaces for trees. For instance, guided by the
recommendation on ThisNext, Stephanie Rahlfs (Rahlfs), a fashion blogger, purchased an up-side
down tomato garden in 2007, a product she would not have come across on other shopping sites.
Highlighting the same Rahlfs said, “You find stuff you would never have run across otherwise.”9
ThisNext’s members enjoy the freedom of posting their product recommendations on other shopping
websites like Buy.com and Shop.com, by attaching the company’s ‘dog-eared’ stickers along with
these recommendations. They can also extend the same to their personal websites and blogs.
However, why would these volunteer workers spend time in creating and updating shopcasts on
ThisNext? Being a member on ThisNext serves as an opportunity to build and augment their own
brand names in the online community. Gould asserts, “We want to create a million mini Oprah
Winfreys. Why is she powerful? Because people think she’s genuine, she’s authentic. She’s giving
recommendations from the heart. We’re (doing that and) scaling that across every product category
across the Web”.10 ThisNext also gives these bloggers and Internet writers an opportunity to reach
out to their specific audience (Exhibit II). Additionally, it also helps the online shoppers to discover
bloggers with similar tastes and preferences. Gould observes, “…wisdom of crowds’ database also
enables users to find bloggers who reflect the readers’ interests. This is a big plus for bloggers since
so much of the net is haphazard. We are enabling an easier, programmatic way to find people whose
product interests reflect your lifestyle.”11

9
“The Go-To Girl for Fashion Tips Social Shopping Sites”, http://mridan.com/2007/11/26/page/7/, November 26th 2007
10
Bergstein Brian, “Social Shopping Sites Link Like-Minded Buyers”, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2008-01-22-
social-shopping_N.htm, January 22nd 2008
11
“Interview with Gordon Gould, ThisNext”, op.cit.

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 ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

Exhibit II
Value Proposition for ThisNext’s Recommenders
Benefits Details

Syndicate your voice Bloggers/writers write to be read. We give another forum for bloggers
to reach their users in a specific context. Also, popular bloggers’ lists
might get picked up by third parties who want to run the bloggers list on
their own site. Sort of like a long-tail, self-selected celeb endorsement
network.
Social capital Bloggers are often influencers. Influencers like to influence so we help
them express their recommendations to people who turn to the bloggers
as go-to sources of product info. In other words, we enable users to ask
the collective wisdom of crowds/bloggers, ‘what products do you use?’
so that users can find new stuff.
Discoverability The aforementioned wisdom of crowds’ database also enables users to
find bloggers who reflect the readers’ interests. This is a big plus for
bloggers since so much of the net is haphazard. We are enabling an
easier, programmatic way to find people whose product interests reflect
your lifestyle.
Import and Export All content on ThisNext can, if the bloggers wish, appear on their own
recommendations site in their badge. Additionally, you can export from your blog to
from ThisNext to ThisNext and soon import from ThisNext to your blog. It is all the
blogs and vice blogger’s content: we are just enabling a new layer in their digital identity.
versa Flickr handles photos, YouTube does video. We are doing products as a
layer for self-expression.

Source: “Interview with Gordon Gould, ThisNext”, http://www.socaltech.com/interview_with_gordon_gould__thisnext/s-

0005023.html, August 22nd 2006

In order to climb the popularity charts, these members strive towards luring the online shoppers
towards their shopcasts, while inducing them to purchase a product. The company recognises its
leading and most influential members as ‘Mavens’, while the crème de la crème among them are
known as ‘Expert Mavens’. Highlighting the same, Daniel Nations (Daniel), a writer, said, “The
Maven programme is also a very interesting idea. There are plenty of places on the web to get product
reviews, but the Maven programme is what puts ThisNext into a different category… If you are
selected as a Maven, you can get special offers and sneak peeks at products.”12 Further, when these
recommended products gain popularity, they are added to the ‘What’s Popular’ list on the company’s
website.

12
Nations Daniel, “A Review of ThisNext”, http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialnetworkingreviews/fr/ThisNext_Review.htm

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 ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

In 2007, the company added a new feature, ‘Member Dashboard’, reflecting real-time rankings
and feedback on the product recommendations of its members. The company stated, “…the feature
allows people to see how they rank in terms of product recommendations in the community; the
company will provide special benefits, gifts, and other perks to the people with the highest ratings.”13
These efforts by the company reaped results. ThisNext was adjudged the most compelling social
shopping website, offering an engaging customer experience by eLab eXchange, a social shopping
prediction market, in 2007.14 Attracting nearly 3.5 million users per month15 , ThisNext is optimistic of
being able to create a long-term success story. Gould asserts, “I think our “layer in the digital identity”
strategy is a useful distinction. A lot of these wisdom sites are YASN (yet another social network)
which ask you to recreate your network on their site.”16
However, with the social marketing arena being already crowded with players like Kaboodle,
StyleHive and WhatsBuzzing, carving out a distinct identity shall not be an easy feat for the company.
Additionally, for a company relying heavily on the efforts of its volunteer workers, motivating and
retaining its members is also a constant challenge.

ThisNext.com’s Future Challenges: Can it Rely on its Volunteer Workers?

Realising the difficulties in motivating and retaining its members, Gould focused on nurturing and
building the online identity of its members. Its easy-to-use interface made it simple for new members
to join ThisNext community. Using features like its ‘Maven’ programme, ThisNext has given a new
meaning to online shopping. The company also cashes in the free labour of its volunteers by luring
them with freebies like skin creams and sunglasses.
Additionally, the growth of the online shopping trend has created an optimistic scenario for ThisNext.
According to a survey conducted by Hitwise, a market research firm, the number of visits to social
shopping websites has witnessed an eightfold leap in 2007.17 Gould observes, “Our view is that social
shopping, by tapping into the social web, will become way bigger than advertising online and through
search engines.”18
However, with the economy undergoing a downturn, volunteer workers may find it difficult to
strive hard to win praise and recognition. Stephen Baker, a senior writer at BusinessWeek, questioned,
“…with the economy crashing, the free-labor business model would be crashing, too. Will people
continue to invest in their personal brands during hard times?”19

13
“ThisNext Adds Site Statistics”, http://www.socaltech.com/thisnext_adds_site_statistics/s-0011976.html, October 26th 2007
14
Hoffman Donna, “ThisNext Wins the eLab eXchange Social Shopping Idea Pageant!”, http://sloan.ucr.edu/2007/11/14/thisnext-wins-
the-elab-exchange-social-shopping-idea-pageant/, November 14th 2007
15
Baker Stephen, “Will Work for Praise: The Web’s Free Labor Economy”, http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/
tc20081228_809309.htm, December 28 th 2008
16
“Interview with Gordon Gould, ThisNext”, op.cit.
17
“Social Shopping Sites Link Like-Minded Buyers”, op.cit.
18
“The Luxury World After Web 2.0”, op.cit.
19
“Will Work for Praise: The Web’s Free Labor Economy”, op.cit.

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 ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

Despite these growing apprehensions, the commitment of volunteer workers at ThisNext like
Laura Sweet (Laura) remains undeterred. Highlighting the same, Laura said, “It’s a labour of love.”20
From a $40021 fish bowl by the design firm, Red Dot Design, to precious gems, Laura is dedicated
towards locating strange yet lovely items and posting them on her shopcasts. Laura’s efforts have
translated into growing popularity, making her the No. 1 recommender in San Francisco, Washington
and Denver.22
However, keeping its employees motivated solely on the rewards of recognition and popularity
does not appear as a long-term solution. Organisations shall have to go beyond the non-monetary
perks to win the loyalties of its team members. Bo Peabody, a venture capitalist, said, “Initially, users
are driven by a desire to express themselves. But there’s a limit to how much they’ll do for free. At
some point, businesses have to figure out how to share their winnings with the volunteers.”23
Additionally, despite being a social shopping website, ThisNext does not offer price comparisons
for its various product offerings. It is also cumbersome to locate friends on this social shopping
website. Daniel said, “For a social shopping website, this makes it a little harder to become social. It
would have been great to be able to search for people with similar shopping interests in order to
review their recommendations. Or, better yet, be matched up with recommended similar products in
order to find people with the same tastes.”24
Further, ThisNext’s members are required to download software every time in order to capture
the images of the products that they would like to recommend. This makes it a tedious task whenever
a member desires to paste a picture. Highlighting the same, Patti Freeman Evans, an analyst, said,
“One hurdle is getting users to go through the trouble of downloading software so they can grab
images of products they like, assuming they are motivated enough to post favorite products to begin
with.”25
Nevertheless, these concerns have not deterred ThisNext’s quest to succeed. Gould said, “…at
the end of the day, it boils down to execution: do you have better social architecture, is your community
robust and usefully productive, does the site add real value?”26

20
“Will Work for Praise: The Web’s Free Labor Economy”, op.cit.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid.
24
“A Review of ThisNext”, op.cit.
25
“Like Shopping? Social Networking? Try Social Shopping”, op.cit.
26
“Interview with Gordon Gould, ThisNext”, op.cit.

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 ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

Annexure I
ThisNext’s Website

Source: http://www.thisnext.com/

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 ThisNext.com: Unfolding New Motivation Lessons ?

Annexure II
ThisNext’s Activity Map

Source: http://www.thisnext.com/activity/map/