Remember that the Shoposphere is in Beta, so we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of possible functionality (especially as the developers get their hands dirty through the API).

The real opportunity in my mind is adding Yahoo’s experience with search and personalization to the Shoposphere. Sadly, Y! hid the ‘Search Pick Lists’ field at the bottom of the page.

Being able to search for pick lists which have a certain CD, shirt, or stove is one thing, but what about being able to search for pick lists by demographic or interest? Similar to how Netflix users get personal dvd recommendations based on how they rate a set of movies, shouldn’t Shoposphere users get personal recommendations of products by how they rate a set of pick lists? Yahoo! Shopping is already working with ChoiceStream on it’s gift receommendation service. Extending personalization into the Shoposphere would help create not just basic buying guides, but personalized recommendation lists.

What’s important right now is that Yahoo! is attempting to leverage the power of its community. Search and personalization can come later. I just hope that all features will be focused around finding the right product for a shopper so that merchants get highly qualified leads.