Backcountry.com Empowers Gear Community with Customer-Generated Video

Posted: 03/09/2010 In Category: Outdoor Retail

Industry News Release Written By: Mike Geraci

PARK CITY, Utah — Backcountry.com customers are passionate about gear. That’s obvious in the fact that, now, more than 100,000 of them actively participate in Backcountry’s on-site community, where they post reviews on and questions and answers about gear (and nothing but gear). Unfortunately, not everyone can wordsmith like Wordsworth while keyboard pecking on the merits of rocker skis or Vibram soles. But, damn, if they don’t turn into Gary Vaynerchuck when you stick them in front of a video camera. Which is why Backcountry.com launched new video functionality this week that enables customers to post their own videos on every product page.

The new video option makes Backcountry.com the first specialty outdoor gear etailer to provide this capability, and further empowers Backcountry.com customers to be the voice of gear truth and authenticity while building on their vision to be The Center of Gear Knowledge.

“We have no idea where this thing will go,” said Joel Brazle, Backcountry.com’s Director of Software Development. “We know that we have passionate customers. We believe that video can provide an amazing means of describing product. The hunch is that putting tools like this in our customers’ hands will be a huge win. This is part of what we do…we facilitate gear purchases and information. We don’t control it. We take risks and let ‘er rip.”

The gear videos capability was developed in-house and leverages the YouTube platform, making the upload and embed technology easy to access and easy to use. The YouTube platform means that community members and Backcountry.com vendors can link up their previously existing video to the appropriate product page without having to start from scratch. Backcountry.com’s video functionality also allows community members to upload video directly from the computer, if they prefer. Each video will also have its own dedicated URL for easy search and sharing.

“YouTube is a great way to dip our toe in the world of video but it’s by no means a complete solution,” said Brazle. “There are lots of things we can do with this and we expect to learn a ton with this first release.”

Videos will contribute to community members’ Leaderboard status. In addition to the other types of content and interactions that determine rankings, such as written reviews, peer-to-peer questions and answers, still images, and the ability to give a thumbs up or down to a customers contribution.

Video functionality will be implemented on Backcountry.com at first, added later to the other retail sites under the Backcountry umbrella, Dogfunk.com, RealCyclist.com, and HucknRoll.com.

About Backcountry.com:
Backcountry.com is an online retailer of high-end outdoor gear. The etailer carries more than 400 brands in various categories, including backpacking, camping, cycling, hiking, climbing, trail running, paddling, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and adventure travel. Backcountry also operates Bonktown.com, Chainlove.com, SteepandCheap.com, Dogfunk.com, Tramdock.com, WhiskeyMilitia.com, DepartmentofGoods.com, Realcyclist.com, Hucknroll.com, and Brociety.com. Backcountry.com is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Interactive Group (Nasdaq: LINTA).

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