Click the button below to visit the voting form.
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When you find a Lootist whose recommendations you'd like to follow*, click on the "Add to Watchlist" link or symbol--which looks like a plus [+]--in their profile. Their latest Loot recommendations will automatically show up in your Watchlist.
To save you the trouble of repeatedly visiting your Watchlist on Lootist.com to see what's new, you can follow your Watchlist stream in your preferred RSS reader.
*Don't forget, if you're looking for interesting Lootists right up your alley, check out the matches our system has found for you.
]]>Recommendations. Click on the new "Discover" tab in the top navigation to find recommendations from Lootists who share your interests. (When you find somebody you like, don't forget you can now follow any Lootists via RSS.)
Loot Widget. Our new, fancy, highly-customizable widget lets you show off your Loot recommendations (or share your wish list) on your blog, MySpace page, or anywhere else that accepts HTML.
Check out this example of the widget:
Pretty sweet, eh? The Lootist developers really did a great job on this one.
* Note that the new "Discover" tab replaces the old "My Interests" tab, but you can still access and edit your interests through the newly-located "My Interests" link in your profile panel.
]]>So, now you can subscribe to your favorite Lootists' product recommendations from your iGoogle home page, Google Reader, My Yahoo page, or other preferred RSS reader.
Not familiar with RSS? Check out an explanation here.
Otherwise, if you're looking for interesting Lootists to follow, check out the "Featured" section of the Lootist home page.
]]>Plus, the app will recommend products and enthusiasts right up your alley! Check it out.
]]>In the meantime, this week we rolled out a minor update to the site. You'll notice that the Lootists that we used to refer to as "specialists" we now call "enthusiasts," and "specialties" have become "interests." This might seem like a minor difference in semantics, but we think "enthusiasts" more accurately describes most of the active users on the site.
For those of you who believe that "enthusiast" doesn't quite do justice to your expertise, you'll be glad to know that--on an ongoing basis--we will identify and highlight certain Lootists as "experts" based on a combination of background (i.e., qualifications), endorsements received, and quality of contributions to the site. Meanwhile, all enthusiasts can continue to gain recognition through our newly-simplified endorsement system.
If you have any questions or thoughts on this or any other Lootist matters, please do give us a shout. Otherwise... Happy Looting!
]]>Alex has made a number of interesting recommendations to Lootist as a classically-trained guitarist and a career martial artist.
]]>You can check out the post here. Thanks for the shout-out, Yaro!
]]>Click the button below to visit the voting form.
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The Contest
Starting today and through December 31, 2007, every time you add (or 'Loot') a product to your Lootist Wish List, you'll be entered into a drawing for an Amazon.com gift certificate worth $50.
To add a product to your Wish List, just mark the item Want one when you Loot it. The more products that you add to your Wish List... the better your chances of winning.
Sign up for Lootist (it's quick and free) to start a Wish List.
Get a Jump-Start
Already have a wish list on Amazon? Get a jump-start on the contest. Just click the Import Amazon.com Wish List link in your Lootist profile to add those products to your Lootist Wish List in one easy step.
Don't forget to let your friends know about the stuff on your Wish List. They can check it out via the Wishlist link in your Lootist profile. When you click on Wishlist, the link (or URL) displayed in your browser's navigation window is one you can copy and send to friends.
The prize drawing will take place soon after December 31.
Happy Looting and Happy Holidays!
]]>The good news is that the Lootist development team is hard at work on improving the home page's load time. You should notice a positive difference very soon. In the meantime, I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
Update: The home page loads pretty quickly now. Enjoy!
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"Although there are tons of sites that provide customer reviews of products, it's difficult to know how much you can trust a reviewer. Lootist changes that by making reviewers sign up and declare their specialty; users then rate the specialists so that over time you can find trusted recommendations from quasi-verified experts."
Wait, so does this mean Lootist is both "killer" and game-changing?
Not bad for a Monday.
]]>"You can rely on the guidance of experts rather than having to rack your own brains. Perfect for the holiday season."
Well. I won't try to argue with that.
You can visit the review and vote for Lootist if you think it's a killer Web site. Grrrrrr.
]]>So far, this is the closest we've come to seeing Lootist's name in lights. You know, since that production of Lootist: The Musical doesn't seem to be going anywhere...
]]>In short, Lootist is a place where specialists recommend the best products by hobby or interest. All of the specialists on Lootist are real people (like you!) from our community. If you want to learn more, you can check out the About Us page. Better yet, just hit the home page and start looking around.
It's been a lot of fun today to see the specialties that new Lootists are declaring. For instance: an animation specialty, declared by the Animation Director at Electronic Arts: Tiburon. Pretty cool.
Happy Looting!
]]>I'd love to reveal more about what's going on, but that information--for now--is reserved for the few, the proud, and the brave... the Lootists who have been invited to test Lootist Alpha.
Would you like to be on this exclusive list? To be considered, send a note to info@lootist.com with a little information about yourself. You know... your name, your job, your hobbies and interests, your dreams and passions, unusual body art, etc. Whatever you think will give us an idea of what you're all about.
More soon!
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