web 2.0: collectors' delight.

How has Web 2.0 aided the process of vintage collecting?

These may include:

• Vintage shopping made easy: eBay auctions (relating to both sellers and buyers of vintage items); and organizers of seasonal or one-off vintage markets can also notify potential buyers through Facebook groups and other social media
• Sharing of knowledge and expertise: Online communities and forums for both active collectors and people who are interested in knowing more about certain categories of vintage items (e.g. clothing, accessories, furniture), in which like-minded people can discuss about their collections and meet like-minded others
• Increased interactivity: Lookbooks, blogs, etc, that allows people to view each others' collections and make comments
• Exchanging items: Vintage Swap (see Ingrid's previous post)

And extending from the overarching theme.. There is a recent trend of "back to basics", with fascinations of reverting back to writing and mailing letters, using manual film cameras (e.g. lomography), wearing vintage or re-worked clothing; ironically, it seems that people maybe overwhelmed by all the technology around us thus take part in the above activities, but the Internet and online media have also helped spread this trend. So what is the relationship between the two?

I was doing a bit of research and came across this website called Swap-bot which allows people to initiate and organize group swaps online, many of which include vintage swaps. I also came across an online vintage boutique called Gary Pepper Vintage. Nicole Warne, founder of the site and owner, sources vintage across Australia (she blogs about it too!). After photographing each item, she puts them up on eBay for auction. I thought perhaps we can get in touch with her and if possible, organise an email Q&A interview? As Ingrid and Johanna mentioned previously, we can also contact Trish Hunter and Antonio Ruggerino about their collections.

It is apparent that the Internet has made this process possible and encourages the renewal of the old (which in turn becomes a new trend itself).