I came across this great TED talk – which is almost rare these days… about an underground economy for Sneakers. Yep, those things, runners, sports shoes…. but mostly Nikes. It turns out that this market of buying and selling special edition shoes is not small fry. The secondary market for collectors edition shoes is estimated to be $1.2 billion a year. And the net value growth in these shoes is greater than that of the S&P 500.
For me this is another great reminder that in a connected world – what seems like a tiny niche can become real business, for real people to earn a real living. What seems like a passion you enjoy on your own might be shared by hundreds of thousands around the globe. But most of all it reminds us to reassess what we believe to be true as technology makes micro and weird possible.
You should totally read my book – The Great Fragmentation.