The rise of interest graphs is definitely something to watch in the coming year. As Paul Chaney writes on Social Commerce Today:

What we think is exciting about the rise of the taste-graph in the context of social network influence is that it adds a new twist to the crucial “homophily vs contagion” debate in social commerce (do social networking platforms bring similar people together or do they create similar people?). If the answer is mainly homophily, as the data seems to suggest, then the role of Facebook and other social networking tools in shopping behaviour may be less about friends influencing friends – and more about making new friends based on similar interests who can then wield collective buying power by clubbing together and buying with bulk-discounts.

Which leads us to our prediction; Groupon is not the last word in group-buy; our prediction is that rise of the taste-graph will give rise to a new generation of social commerce – dynamic demand-led group-buy around people’s passion-points.

In the context of social commerce, giving people the ability to find and connect with others who share their passions is very powerful. The glue that is missing is how folks declare their interest in forming a group purchase.

I believe that we at Ubokia have uncovered the solution. Ubokia has inverted the commerce model by enabling Buyers to Post what they Want and letting Sellers respond. As an added benefit, Sellers can now see exactly what Buyers are looking for.

With this Want-centric model, the potential for group deals is huge. Groups on Ubokia exist around common interests and often are existing organizations. You gain two advantages: First, these groups can aggregate Wants around similar interests. Second, there is a higher level of implied trust.

So, what does this mean for the potential to create your own group buys on Ubokia? All we can say for now is… stay tuned.