Zavee, a social shopping platform we are launching in South Florida, positions social shopping as a marketing tool for local merchants, not just as a way to improve the shopping experience for consumers. We provide social tools that facilitate the conversation between shopper and merchant along with a loyalty/rewards program that makes price promotion much more rational, configurable and trackable. And since Zavee is a coalition platform all of the merchants benefit from increased reach.

Your "two sides of the same coin" comment is spot on. Zavee shoppers benefit from the experience and opinions of other shoppers, enhanced communication with merchants and cash back rewards that help level the playing field with large chains and big-box retailers. Zavee also has a novel social giving feature that lets shoppers direct a portion of Zavee's revenues to local causes they select.

Giantnerd shopping community focuses on the Outdoor Gear niche. Nice to see what we are doing is gaining traction.

Giantnerd® isn't like other shopping sites. In fact, Giantnerd® has almost nothing to do with us. Rather, everything here is a product of you—the community—from products you see on the site, all the way down to our company policy. Giantnerd® is a social platform totally dependent on your presence; your opinions; your wants and needs. So it’s fitting that Giantnerd® should be the only source you’ll ever need for researching, shopping, and eventually copping, gear for every outdoor activity you geek out to.

Great feedback on my article. You're absolutely right — I didn't discuss any tools that facilitate the social shopping process. In particular, there are a number of great up-and-coming mobile apps that I think bridge the mall-shopping experience with the online world well…

Btw, I love the "friendcasting" term.