As the Web 2.0 revolution continues to gather steam, potential new killer applications continue to emerge on the internet.
From humble beginnings based on ideas of the public good, commerce is now driving the expansion of the internet. Even the phenomenon of social networking sites, such as MySpace and YouTube, are sponsored and paid for by advertising.
The sites comprised of user-generated content including blogs, photo and video sharing are being gobbled up by big media companies, who are desperately looking for ways to make money out of allowing the viewers and users of these sites.
Rupert Murdoch has stitched up a highly lucrative deal with the search engine Google for MySpace, after purchasing MySpace in recent months. Google has subsequently gobbled up the MySpace competitor YouTube, which means, typically, that Google is able to have a bet each way, and will profit from both.
As entrepreneurs and online "old hands" both search for the next big thing on the internet, a newly emerging concept is Zebo, which combines the desire to shop with a capacity to search and to join a social network. Launched only a couple of months ago, it is planned as an online shopping community. Over seven million people hae already joined the free site.
So what does this say about human society?
Like many sites, Zebo relies on user-generated content. The front page quickly provides a summary of the current cool items. Last week Zebo members were saying that they own houses, iPod players, DVDs, family and CDs—a very electronics-based set of belongings.
This week, it's computers, shoes, houses and iPods—people weren’t rated so highly.
And last week, what did they desire? Friends, iPods and phones.
The predilection towards owning and gaining material possessions is rampant. Like many teenagers, Jessica of Brisbane, Australia owns a Playstation2 and wants a Playstation Portable. Zac, aged 23 and from Las Vegas, Nevada USA is into music and computers and wants his own recording studio.
While the site clearly states that it is aimed at users over the age of 18, due to the commercial nature, it is teenage girls who appear to be overwhelmingly attracted to the opportunity to brag about what they own, dream about what they aspire to, and find out what other users think about products.
Members are encouraged to blog with a commercial focus, to keep a journal of shopping experiences and tips. There is also the opportunity to store