Social Commerce? Just Tell me When!

The advent of social commerce, this is the whole bet and project of this blog and its team.

If numerous signs have indicated premises for this new form of consummation, keep in mind that this is only a taste of what’s to come.

Jeremiah Owyang, analyst at Forrester Research, predicts a bright future for social commerce….after completing 5 key phases of social media:

1. Social relationship phase: people connect with each other and share information
2. Social functionality phase: social networks take on the form of operating systems
3. Social colonization phase: each experience can now be “social”
4. Social context phase: the content is personalized and targeted
5. Social commerce phase: communities define the new products and services

We can see well how social networks complete phase 1. 

Phase 2, the era of applications and widgets, social interconnection is already well advanced.

In phase 3, the one of “shared ID”, individual identities shared between networks and websites is also taking place. Thus, a lot of internet users directly share videos on their profile from YouTube on these social networks.

However, a real “portable” identity is not yet in place, despite having the OpenID standard.

Phase 4, the one of social context, involves the availability of targeted content and seems to me more confusing.  Fortunately, for Jeremiah Owyang, these phases superpose with time, as indicated in the graph above.

This puts the horizon of  social commerce  around 2011!

Will we, impatient social consumers, be able to wait?

See Jeremiah Owyang’s article  

Did You Engage Vuitton Parading on Facebook?

What a superb idea Vuitton had!

Replaying his fashion show on Facebook. Where as the “live” fashion show was reserved for celebrities and other VIP, the “social” fashion show was accessible to fashionistas everywhere on the Facebook fan page “The Art of Travel by Louis Vuitton”.


This typical social marketing strategy allows one to break free from new marketing trends: “live” vs. “social”, this is the new alternative.

Or rather “live” & “social” that could quickly be expressed by “live” x “social”, with the showing on Facebook allowing members to discuss between themselves and increase the impact, as the collected insights on Facebook reveal.

Among all the media choices available the television broadcast is losing, and, also noted, was that neither the Louis Vuitton site itself, even though more directly linked to his collections, nor YouTube, another possible media platform for playing videos, was chosen.


By using Facebook, Vuitton chose to give his fans priority.  If the site keeps the video 24 hours after being played, the fan page finds significance in hosting the event and allowing fans to express themselves and to benefit from an exclusive opportunity.

Here are some of the most significant comments:

• The idea:  LV your idea excellent…. “…….. always love u louis vuitton……” “LV is the ultimate style statement”….. “Can’t wait to watch it. LV is the BEST!”….. “well done!!!!!! It was a nicely planned event!!!!
• The fashion show: “I saw very nice bags, me, who is a fan of louis vuitton”….. “LV is awesome I love the tradition canvas, the best!”…… “wasn’t crazy about the clothing”….. “nice! but the bags are really nice! :)”….. “The new line of bags is beautiful!”….. “In my opinion, epic fail: -don’t like the shoes (do I spy UGGS?!) nor the fur tails – Afro stuff capturing all the attention” “Bravo Louis Vuitton….the show was butter smooth….the colors were softly bright….the texture of the fabric was exquisite, especially in the lace-like shorts….I really liked the unique look….the furry shoes in assorted colors were outstanding….all the glimmer, colors, and uniqueness; deserves a real stand up ovation….YOU ARE THE BEST…” “love it….it gives me enough confidence……” “Awesome!! Beautiful!!!....” “Amazing show as usual…am so loving the bright color on the bags…nice”… “awesome colors, style and accessories are amazing!” “luv, luv, luv” “mad shoes…love it and the new reinvention of the kitty heel…love it”.

Over a period of 3 days 6500 points of positive feedback were obtained and a strong growth of the page was seen with The Art of Travel by Louis Vuitton increasing from 640,000 fans to 729,000 fans in a span of a few weeks, while still expecting for a growing amount of comments on fans personal walls.


Louis Vuitton achieved a successful advertising campaign and highlighted the appeal of his new accessory line, especially the bags. Above all, Vuitton was a forerunner and paved the way (with elegance) on Facebook.


if you missed it, the fashion show is still accessible on the Louis Vuitton site