Start-Up Watch COD: Favit – the new home of passionate enthusiasts?

In the coming years, category experts and superfans are going to be core to successful marketing strategies. Given this, I am always on the lookout for interesting tools and platforms that will likely attract enthusiasts. It stands to reason that such communities need to be on the radar of brands that are about more than just "click to buy now."

Favit provides a platform for enthusiasts (and brands) to receive and share content of all forms in a single, blog-like flow. When an enthusiast -- or a brand -- joins, they are invited to connect all of their favorite feeds to a Favit stream, plus thir Twitter and Facebook accounts. This unified stream presents the aggregation of all this content. This is no ho-hum RSS reader -- rather it presents the content as you would see it on a web page, and also integrates updates from FaceBook and Twitter friends so you get all your content in one place.

Well, actually, the power is in NOT getting it all in one place, at least in my view. You can organize feeds and people into separate streams, so that, for example, your business websites and blogs go to one Favit stream, and your hobbyist stream and friends into another. And family into a third, etc. That makes a stream a better and more organized read for you, but it has other beenfits as well. Because other Favit users, and your friends, can follow your enthusiast stream and benefit from your expertise. This takes a personal experience and grows your social capital by making it available to others.

Y'all know I love a sizzle vid, so here you go...



So how is this most relevant to brands? I think in two ways. First, Favit gives us the opportunity to follow super influencers who are on the pulse -- or indeed are creating the pulse -- of a category or lifestyle. Second, the platform provides an opportunity for a brand to connect itself with lifestyle content and experts through a Favit stream. By identifying and Faviting the best lifestyle content available on a particular topic, the brand can become an"expert" that enthusiasts look to for news, ideas, and indeed recognition.

Now, obviously, you could build a web site that did this, or do it in an area of your current web site. But housing the stream on Favit might give it more power and credibility. And it will certainly take less time and money. Favit is earning raves for the quality of the visual experience it provides, even during its beta. They've clearly spent a lot of time and effort to create something any enthusiast can leverage and enjoy.

Favit is based in Bulgaria, but their service is open to North Americans. Mnogo blagodarya, guys and gals!