Panel at Social Media Jungle: Boston
Today’s Social Media Jungle: Boston event, organized by Jeff Pulver (see picture with the bearded man) went really well as did the panel I moderated on “R-commerce (relationship commerce)”. Approximately 125 attendees enjoyed open, heady sessions and discussions about technology and social media’s impact to business, charitable giving, IT and corporate life, and other topics.
The R-commerce panel featured two brilliant entrepreneurs and their wonderful startups: Jason Jacobs of FitnessKeeper and Leah Busque (pronounced bus-key) of RUNmyERRAND.com. (See picture.)
R-commerce is not about selling a product to someone but about the relationship between the merchant and the consumer that is facilitated through social media technologies, smart phones and real world interaction. R-commerce happens where social and commerce graphs intersect. But r-commerce is not about goods; its about the total customer experience. As Leah put it: “We blur the line between on- and off-line communities.”
These two Boston-area companies have business models which are functioning just fine despite the economic malaise. They address age-old, daily problems everyone experiences: Measuring fitness and not enough time in the day to everything done. While these compelling new businesses have challenges, such as trust and scaling, captains Busque and Jacobs are well equipped to sail through rough seas.