Threadwatch, an online marketing community, is contemplating launching a marketplace. See the discussion about it.

In my opinion, we're going to start seeing a lot more of this. The community is essentially a platform for starting a business; it will provide you with the opportunity to make connections, launch your own storefront, and possibly more.

Note the openness of the process; the community is collectively participating in shaping the marketplace, much like how a true community operates. Many of the online communities that introduce marketplaces will end up mirroring offline communities quite a bit, and may even have their own political systems to determine policies. One key issue that a lot of communities will have trouble dealing with is managing conflict within the community; not everyone can agree, and not every decision can be a communal one.

From a strategic, cultural, and social perspective, this trend is very much worth watching.

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