Shespeaks.com is quite a new site that is aimed at woman.
You signup, complete a questionnaire about your interests, hobbies, what you like and dislikes. The company then matches products with your selections which you receive in 2 to 3 weeks. You keep the product and provide feedback online about the product. You can discuss with other woman who tried the same product, and you get to see what changes are planned for the product before launching to the outside world.
Perspective: Not only does this provide a much better research than focus groups for companies before launching a product, it also captures conversations about new products that can be used to shape the communication’s strategies. In the process consumers gets to have a say over areas they are passionate about.
