Parrotview: A Real-Time Co-shopping Tool

So, first things first. Parrotview is a small startup that is looking to revolutionize the way people shop online. That sounds like a marketing line, doesn't it? Well, in my opinion, if Parrotview technology takes off, it will change the way people shop on the internet.

This is how I shop online. First I head over to my favorite website and I browse around. Usually, there are tons of choices. Price comparisons are easy but then, should I buy this one? I look in my buddy list to see who can offer me some advice. Then, I IM them with the link to the product. Hey, do you think I should buy this? Meanwhile, I keep browsing. My friend sends me a link to a better product. I click on it, it opens another window. Eh, not interested. Close window. Go back to original window. Send a link to the current product I'm looking at... They click... This goes back and forth until FINALLY, I manage to make a decision. It usually takes way more time than it should have.

Instead, if the website I was shopping had Parrotview, I wouldn't have to send those super-long URL links back and forth. Instead, I could browse and chat with my friend while my friend could automatically see what page I was on and I could automatically see what item my friend was looking at. No more tab flipping in my browser. The shopping experience becomes much more seamless. And, I could also have invited more friends to co-shop with me so we could all look around all at once! Though the co-shopping tool is only in alpha right now, you can still try the demo today.

Co-shopping is kind of a word that Parrotview invented. Well, I suppose the word already exists in a sense but Parrotview is giving it a very specific definition. It's not just social shopping. That category is too broad. You could call it group shopping but it's not everyone in the group buying the same thing. Co-shopping is more like a simultaneous, real-time experience. It's like collaborative shopping. Or maybe like IM shopping, instant messaging shopping.

Disclaimer: Why am I promoting Parrotview? The bottom line is, I'm really excited about it. I'm excited about new web technologies. This one also happens to be developed by one of my close friends, so I'm eager to see it succeed. :) They don't pay me or anything like that.

Parrotview enables multiple people to co-shop online.

It currently supports AOL, MSN, Gtalk, and Yahoo chat clients. These are among the most popular chat clients out there today. This means, more likely than not, both you and your friends are already on one of these chat programs so neither of you will have to download anything for Parrotview to work.

Parrotview allows real-time instant messaging chat on online retailers' sites. You won't need to navigate away from the shopping site in order to chat with your friends. You can get instant feedback from your friends since they'll be able to know exactly what you're looking at when you're looking at it. When you go to a different product page on that site, you're friend will see a picture of the new item you're looking at through....

Picture-in-picture windows are overlaid on the webpage. You'll also be able to see your friend's PIP. When your friend browses to another page, you'll see the new item in the frame. And if you want to go to the page your friend is on, just click on the photo and you'll be on that page, too!