I met with Josh Hug, CEO of Shelfari today. They seem to be gaining traction. More specifically, they've done a nice job really focusing in on customer acquisition using their viral upload your address book feature. This was a feature that has become more accepted as an acceptable spam cannon for social networks. When I started Judy's Book, that was not the case. We had the same feature but never really got over the hurdle of making the user experience seamless. Internally, the developers hated the idea of spamming their friends or building a spam cannon. In retrospect, we absolutely should have built out this feature and built it out well. In my hindsight is 20-20 rear view mirror, this kind of viral acquisition is a no brainer. My tip for other entrepreneurs -- focus on customer acquisition and don't be bashful.
I am an angel investor and own shares in Shelfari
