ShopWiki Adds User-Generated Video Reviews to Product Searches

Shopping search engine offers $50 incentive for first 500 videos.

NEW YORK, NY — June 28, 2006 — ShopWiki (http://www.shopwiki.com/), the complete shopping search engine and buying guide, today expanded the breadth of its user-generated content with Video Reviews. Created by ShopWiki users— who have already written and edited more than 1,300 buying guides on the site— the Video Reviews add a dynamic personal touch to online shopping with up-close views and balanced commentary on a wide scope of products.

In a unique twist on the Web’s existing user-generated models, ShopWiki is encouraging quality submissions by paying $50 for each of the first 500 videos selected to appear on the site. More than 50 videos have been produced so far across categories as varied as mobile devices, beauty products and home appliances.

Video Reviews feature an individual product, a head-to-head comparison of two products or a roundup of an entire category of products. For example, a user might review a Blackberry alone, compare and contrast it with a Treo or do a product roundup comparing all of the Smartphones currently on the market. The accepted videos appear within ShopWiki’s extensive search results (the Web’s widest selection), on individual product pages and in the site’s wiki buying guides.

“For certain products, it’s helpful to see the product being used, opened and touched by a real person,” said ShopWiki CEO Kevin P. Ryan. “Our Video Reviews are the two-minute equivalent of a friend or salesperson giving great advice on a product. Along with the ShopWiki buying guides, the Video Reviews offer a level of personal guidance you can’t get on any other shopping site.”

Examples include Video Reviews of the ConAir Ionic Speed Hair Dryer and the Garmin eTrex Vista C, a GPS device. In addition, the initial batch of Video Reviews includes videos from experts at Apple retailer TekServe in New York (doing a Pro Audio Speaker Roundup) and sporting goods store Paragon Sports (with a Tennis Racquet Roundup).

To watch ShopWiki’s Video Reviews or upload your own, visit http://www.shopwiki.com/. Compensation is available for a limited time for videos accepted by the company. ShopWiki reserves the right to reject video submissions for any reason. Full terms and guidelines for acceptable submissions can be found on the site.

About ShopWiki: ShopWiki is the complete shopping search engine, combining breakthrough search and Web crawling technologies with consumer-driven wiki technology to help shoppers make the most informed buying decisions. Established in 2005 by Eliot Horowitz, former DoubleClick CEO Kevin Ryan and DoubleClick Co-founder and former CTO Dwight Merriman, ShopWiki actively crawls the Internet to find and index products from more than 120,000 retail stores, the widest selection on the Web, and features more than 1,300 buying guides written and edited by users. The site does not accept data feeds or charge for inclusion. ShopWiki is privately held and based in New York.

Press Room | Press Releases