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Digg the Real World: Bookstores and more

After writing about how grocery stores could embrace Web 2.0 and getting some interesting comments on social networking around creamed corn, I got to thinking about other opportunities that 2.0 principles have to come to the offline world.

Applying the Digg Algorithm to Bookshelves

Consider the example of a common book store, for instance. Items are up on shelves, arranged alphabetically by author, or in special sections ordered by release date, or a national best-seller list. The special sections are the equivalent of the Digg frontpage - the key difference, however, is that in the case of a bookstore, the contents of that front page are driven by factors that have little to do with the actual users of the bookstore - i.e.: the shoppers. At best, they are a product of national-level, week or month old, aggregated sales data.

So - why not create an algorithm to populate those shelves? National bestseller status and release dates would be factors in the algorithm; but so would local store level sales. So - when a local newspaper review drives a surge in sales of an author’s old book, the algorithm would push that book onto the store’s “frontpage” and capitalize on the opportunity. Or when Kurt Vonnegut’s passes away, the algorithm reacts to spur sales, and the store doesn’t miss a spike because the marketing department missed the significance of the headlines that day.

Anyway, many retail venues seem to be stuck with relatively static approaches to in-store promotions. I don’t think this needs to be the case.

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