woot - ReadWriteWeb

Can Digg Do Real-Time News?

Dana Oshiro — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:26:00 -0800

A great community for crowd sourced news and content, Digg is taking a page from the Twitter playbook and testing its mettle in the real-time stream. Similar to Twitter's Trending Topics, Digg is set to launch Digg Trends. According to a company blog post , the bookmarking community is offering users a chance to view trending stories before they make it to the home page. True to Digg fashion, this public view of the trend firehose comes with a catch. Voters have 10 minutes to digg or bury a story in order to determine whether it occupies valuable homepage real estate.

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]]> Digg Trends are identified when stories receive a high volume of comments, favorites and shares. From here a trending story will appear in a box above the site's "most recent" page content for ten minutes. Within that time frame users decide which stories are worthy for the homepage. In order to ensure that Digg members stay connected to these trends the company is also introducing a new Twitter account with a real-time feed of rising stories. These notifications are likely to increase user engagement and encourage higher traffic to the site during peak hours.

What makes this an ingenious member engagement tool for Digg, is that sub-par articles with a high number of comments are likely to incite action. In the past, many of us simply ignored the sensationalist stories that plagued the lower echelons of Diggdom. Nevertheless, with trolls being a driving force in the determination of trends, users will find themselves clicking through simply to right the wrongs in the Digg universe. While real-time shopping notifications like Woot's Twitter account incentivize users with deals, Digg knows that its members will keep coming back to maintain a sense of justice. The company will be rolling out the trends feature in the near future.

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Yahoo Deals: Woot and the New Coupon Clippers

Dana Oshiro — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:10:42 -0800

Yahoo has just launched Yahoo Deals, a site that offers coupons, deals and shopping related tips in a searchable format. According to the release, "web searches for "printable coupons" on Yahoo! are up 50 percent in 2009, compared to the same time in 2008, and up 135 percent compared to 2007." As mainstream news readers abandon their print subscriptions for online news sources, Yahoo's alternative form of coupon clipping is likely to increase brand loyalty and help families weather the recession.

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]]> Said Greg Hintz, head of Yahoo Shopping: "Frugality is the new cool. We now know that couponing and bargain hunting are losing their stigma and are now a regular habit for many people. Our goal at Yahoo is to be the center of people's online lives and we're making Yahoo the easiest place for consumers to find and manage the coupons and deals that are relevant to their lives."

While we see that there's value in coupons and exclusive deals, it's a little strange to see someone call frugality "the new cool". Perhaps it would be more apt to call it a "bitter necessity for tough times" or simply, "sensible". In any case, Deals offers users a chance to find the cheapest gas in their area, clip coupons from Valpak and Coupons.com and check for daily sales on computers, housewares and clothing.

The daily deals section is by far the most interesting feature as users can check for deals in the verticals of their choice and be redirected to daily sale sites like Smart Bargains and Woot via Sellout.Woot. In this case, Yahoo finally gets a chance to really showcase their 2007 Woot partnership in a shopping experience that isn't a maze of click-thrus. For those readers who are already following Woot on Twitter, you may want to also follow Yahoo Deals and increase your chances of scoring cheap computer equipment or stereo gear.

As for the coupons section, if Yahoo Deals gains real momentum, coupon clippers might be found abusing office supplies (namely toner cartridges and paper) across the country. One great way to combat the waste of old school coupon clipping would be for Yahoo to offer a mobile version complete with scannable bar codes. This way a deal finder could simply load up their mobile phone with the correct bar codes and cashiers could scan the jpegs.

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If Woot Went Green: EcoSteal

Rick Turoczy — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 02:30:01 -0800

Chasing a good deal is always a popular pursuit. And with the current economic conditions, saving money has never been more important. Many look to shopping site Woot as a way to garner steep discounts on random products. It's a site that has grown in popularity thanks to one simple catch: supplies are limited and there's only 24 hours to make the purchase.

Now, a new discount site has taken the Woot model and made it decidedly earth-friendly. So you'll be saving green - while being green. Meet EcoSteal.

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]]> Like Woot, EcoSteal offers one discounted product at time. Unlike Woot, there doesn't appear to be a time limit. The product remains available until supplies are exhausted. At the moment, for example, there's a Mountainsmith women's backpack that's made of 100% recycled materials available for $40 US - less than half the retail price.

And while the products are fleeting, EcoSteal asserts that being socially conscious about purchases isn't: "Being green is not a fad. It is not trendy. It is a new way of life that we all must live by and embrace." One thing is for sure: saving money and doing something good for the planet is a combination that's going to attract a number of fans.

EcoSteal users have the option of buying up to three of the available product. In addition to the discounted price, they'll be charged for shipping. (Unfortunately for our non-US readers, EcoSteal is currently only shipping to the United States.) All purchases are final, unless there is a defect or error on EcoSteal's part.

To see what eco-friendly deal you can snag today, head over to EcoSteal. Or if you want to be in the know on the latest green offerings, register for the EcoSteal alert service.

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2 New Woot Apps Available for the iPhone - Which is Better?

Corvida — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:40:49 -0800

Woot is an awesome site that features a great deal each day. From shirts to wine, to the latest gadget, you can find great daily deals on Woot for an awfully low price. The only catch is that you have to be fast because the deals normally only go for that particular day and usually sell out fast. Now you can keep up with all the great deals from Woot from your iPhone with the 2 new Woot apps. Here's a look at both applications.

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]]> WootWatch Review

WootWatch (iTunes), the first Woot application to make it to the iPhone, isn't the best app for the job. Quite frankly, all it does is present you with the latest woot deal with its pricing information and a link to the woot website for more information. Unfortunately, this application does not provide the latest deals from Woot Shirt nor Woot Wine. We honestly don't see the point in downloading this application for Woot. You're better off bookmarking the website to get all that you would need for making a decision on whether or not to snag the latest deal from Woot.

Woot! Review

Woot! (iTunes) on the other hand does a much better job at helping you keep up with the latest Woot deals. You can monitor not only the Woot site, but also Woot Shirt and Woot Wine. Where you would normally have to refresh the app in order to see any new updates with WootWatch, Woot! allows you to set auto-refresh intervals ranging from 1 minute to every hour. Woot! also allows you to to see the description of the latest deal right inside the reader including whether or not the latest item is in "Woot off!" mode, meaning it's almost sold out. There's even an option for your phone to vibrate and auto refresh when an item is in Woot-Off mode.

So Which One Should I Use?!

The answer to that question depends entirely upon your preference and budget. Currently, WootWatch is available in the iTunes App Store for free, while Woot! will cost you a $0.99. If you can afford to pay for Woot! we wholeheartedly advise you to do so. However, if you really don't need all the extra features and just want to know what the latest deal is, save your pretty pennies and grab WootWatch.

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