We just released the open beta of our http://www.tribevine.com -service and are looking for people who know the big mountain gear as beta testers. Simultaneously with the launch of the open beta we have started a competition which rewards with valuable free gear the beta users who have produced the most valuable content and invited the best producing peers to the service, as well as provided the best feedback for us.

The goal of the service is to combine the experiences of the most knowledgeable individuals around the globe and bring it to millions of users worldwide, thus helping the end-users to select the exact products that suit their interests the best. Already the service contains information for example about a wider selection of products such as climbing ropes, avalanche transceivers, touring bindings and high altitude mountaineering boots than any other service in the web. All of these can be compared side by side as well.

Tribevine.com functions on a crowd sourcing principle; the combined information from sources, such as brand owners and web stores, is refined by the expert community. There are several unique features in the service. For instance, it automatically estimates the level of product knowledge of each user which is very important from the information quality point of view. Another good example is the concept of a tribe which enables the users to find the information that’s relevant from their interests’ point of view.

- Juho Risku / http://www.climbingextreme.com