Michael Edwards, one of the founders of Mediachest, sent us the following information on his new service:

Mediachest, Inc. operates a website, mediachest.com, that allows people to inventory their collections of books, CDs, DVDs, and video games. On top of this inventory management application is a social software layer that allows friends to keep track of their friends' collections. This social inventory tracking application extends to two degrees of separation beyond friends (friends of friends of friends). Using a zip code database, Mediachest also allows people to find other people in the same geographic area that have items in their collections that are of interest. 

In addition to empowering people with the ability to track what the people in their social and geographic interest circles own, Mediachest also allows them to track borrowed and loaned items. This networked borrowing application allows users to stop renting media items and instead borrow them from people in their social and geographic circles. A feedback and trust metric system in addition to the ability to require "2-way borrows" ensure that the system is not abused.

Mediachest also implements the concept of groups which allow people who aren't necessarily friends, but who belong or identify with the same group to manage their relationship and have access to those people for the social borrowing service as well as for communication.