Over the past few years, social networking web sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have begun to generate more web traffic than traditional web protocols. According to Ad Age, a new social shopping technology called “Fluid Social” allows friends to make purchase suggestions via Facebook, and AIM. This technology is now available at Vans.com. It allows consumers who are building custom shoes on the site to invite friends to chat about product design. This type of interaction will be a very valuable tool for online stores to incorporate. Product recommendations and feedback that come from peers are the most trusted!

—Sara