Ifixit.com – One of the Ultimate BrandsThatShare™

The BrandsThatShare™ concept is simple. Evolving from the traditional “brands that promise” (whose purpose is to sell stuff), brands that share give stuff away – important stuff.

A case in point: ifixit.com. As the founders, Luke and Kyle, explain in the “background” part of their website, “We started out fixing an old iBook together. There were no instructions on how to do it, so we started the way everyone does: the hard way. We tinkered. We fiddled. We broke some tabs and lost a few screws. But we fixed it!”

Today the mission has grown bigger, but remains every bit as simple: “We want to fix the world.”

In the process of growing and helping, ifixit does a great deal of the latter. They start by providing information, information, information – repair manuals, user forums, articles, videos, interviews – just about everything a person might need in the process of fixing and repairing. For example, they could charge for the repair, but instead they show users how to fix an ipod. How cool is that?

They also sell stuff, but when they do it, they provide information as a bonus (like this 10 Favorite Gifts list).

Ifixit informs further by remaining open to the media explaining and being available.

Sharing doesn’t stop at information, though. It also involves building community.

Commitment to larger issues (in ifixit's case, the environment) comprises another facet of activity common to brands that share.

One of ifixit’s most likeable attributes is the companies willingness to eat its own dogfood – meaning that it both uses and sells recycled products.

The company commits to being part of – and, where possible – building networks  with other like-minded BrandsThatShare. (Activism is one hallmark of brands that share).

Finally, there’s my personal favorite, “The Self-Repair Manifesto.” It’s actually free for the cost of shipping (and we’re not talking about that $8.99 shipping charge that makes us choke, just that $3.19 shipping, in my case). 

So if you wondered what BrandsThatShare look like, take a look at ifixit.com.

--  a gift from BrandsThatShare, with gratitude to ifixit.com.