Disclaimer: All Free IQ links in this post are affiliate links, in the interest of experimentation of course :-)
The buzz seems to be spreading around the web about a new site about to go out of BETA called Free IQ (affiliate link) who bill themselves as 'a market place for ideas' and explain themselves as 'an easy way to get your ideas, products and services to your targeted audience.' i.e. you can upload and share your own original content (videos, audio, e-books). A bit like a multimedia YouTube.
This is only part of the story though. In addition to giving and receiving free content, you can also buy and sell content. Even more interesting - there is an optional two level affiliate marketing program. Affiliates who refer people to the site get paid if those people or someone they introduce buy or sell something. (I wish I'd seen it explained as simply on the site itself - it took me a while to get my head around it). They have thought a lot about the affiliate system. For example you can create your own link using pretty much any text combination - although the obvious options are usually taken.
Another feature is that they say they have a patent pending algorithm for getting useful content to the top of the list. Browsing through the catalog, the initial impression felt a bit cheesy but closer inspection revealed some useful materials. I was happy I didn't have to sign up for any newsletters to get the free stuff. Hopefully the community ranking will really work so that the content that is more advertorial than real content will not be conspicuous.
A nice feature for bloggers, you can also embed items.
- Here's a sample video: Market Research and Product Sourcing
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
- Here's a sample PDF: Adwords Made Easy
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Finally (I think) they also have features for customizing your own page on the site so you can list your own products you like. My page is http://freeiq.com/andrewshuttleworth, although there is not much there yet.
Overall this is a very interesting site. I'm sure some people will have objections regarding the two level affiliate system and this also makes the site an easy target for people to make a quick buck by spamming others, it will be very interesting to see how it grows. The word of mouth marketing tsunami has already started which is the best a new web site can ask for.
