The Blog

Some blogger love for the new EXPO Store

Every so often I like to take some time to appreciate members that are helping spread the word about the EXPO community in their personal blogs. It’s been a few weeks since we officially launches the new points program and we’ve seen tremendous increases in member activity which we see as an indicator that our members are really liking the new structure for them to share their honest opinions about the things they buy and use on a daily basis.

So, today I’d like to feature a few mom’s that do it all:

annmgarrido
This 26 year old is a mother to one beautiful rambunctious preschooler and wife to a loving husband that also is an undergraduate student, studying Psychology (BS). I plan to graduate in May 2010. I run a blog called Cool Deals & Savings. I am just learning the art of couponing and saving when shopping. You can see what she reviews at EXPO here and check out her blog.

Eaglesforjack
This married mommy of two toddlers that our 11 months and 1 day apart enjoys shopping, blogging, hiking, movies, electronics, spending time with my family, geocaching and so much more. Check out some of her reviews or her blog A Family Full of Opinions to learn more about this EXPO mom.

Mamacheaps
This EXPO member is living life as a frugalista-stay-at-home-mom-always-on-the-go-mom-trepeneur… and loving every second!!! when she is not saving lots of money with coupons she’s reviewing the products she buys at EXPO. See her honest opinions here and be sure to check out her blog too.

FrugalCouponLiving
This teacher and mom runs a website called Frugal Coupon Living that teaching others how to save money on groceries and everyday items. She hasn’t uploaded a review to EXPO yet but we bet she’s just trying to find the perfect product to share her opinion. Check out her blog.

tacobella
This EXPO member is also a full time mom, ebayer, couponer, and blogger, oh, and she has a real job too!

She hasn’t uploaded a review just yet but you can learn more about her on EXPO and on her blog.

Thanks to all these moms and anyone else helping spread the word about EXPO — we hope you like having a trusted community of people sharing their honest opinions about the stuff they buy so you can make informed buy decisions. Oh yeah, and shopping in the EXPO Store is fun too!

Trackback this post Add comment October 22nd, 2009 Jess

EXPO members share their opinions on how the economy will affect holiday spending

EXPO members across the country shared their view on how the economy will affect their holiday spending in 2009. We asked the community to discuss what their family is doing to cut costs to complement the NRF’s first holiday survey, conducted by BIGresearch to help gives retailers a better understanding of today’s shoppers.

In addition to the standard responses of shopping coupons, sales and deals you will learn valuable tips on how consumers are making their money work harder for themselves and their family this holiday season. EXPO members discuss everything from reusing last year’s holiday decorations to giving more practical presents in response to the impact of the economy.

Watch the short video to hear how shoppers plan to make changes to their holiday spending this year.

And to see past video insights conducted for the NRF click here.

Trackback this post Add comment October 20th, 2009 Jess

Quick Update Regarding Point Earnings

We’ve made a change to the way you will see points displayed on member profiles. Points will now be held in Pending status for 72 hours after they are earned to allow Expo staff time to screen all video content to ensure authentic, honest consumer opinions are provided as well as all other point-earning activities to ensure all community standards are meet.

After the 72 hours have passed, all pending points will become available for members to redeem within the EXPO Store for gift cards and other merchandise; including fun Halloween decorations!

Trackback this post Add comment October 19th, 2009 Sarah

Fun Halloween Treats in the Expo Store!

If you are like most of us in the Expo office, you love Halloween and can’t wait for all the tricks and treats to come out into the stores. In just a few days you’ll have access to the Expo Store which has a bunch of cute Halloween decorations and party favors for anyone throwing a Halloween party for your kids or your friends this year.

Halloween has always been one of those holidays that get me really excited - from deciding on your costume to decoration your house to buying the best Halloween candy. Here’s my Top 10 List of Halloween Decorations available at the Expo Store in order of point value:

1. Spider Shot Glasses

2. Skull Tray

3. Pumpkin Mini Candles

4. Haunted House Place Mats

5. Pumpkin Lights with Remote Control

6. Haunted House Plates

7. Furry Spider (comes in larger size too!)

8. Puffy Jack-o-lantern Stuffed Animal Decoration

9. Mini Halloween Cupcakes

10. Ghost Cake — this thing is AWESOME!

Anyone going to use the points they earn on any cool Halloween gear? I sure would!

- Jess

Trackback this post 5 comments October 19th, 2009 Jess

FTC makes public Endorsement Guidelines for bloggers, etc.

Read what Expo CEO, Daphne Kwon has to say about the FTC Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising.

Click here to read her post.

Trackback this post Add comment October 6th, 2009 Jess

Suite of Member Enhancements Goes Live on Expo - The Wait is Over!

It may be a little late in the day (at least for all you East Coasters) but the time has finally arrived for us to reveal the new and improved Rewards Program and Member interface to the Expo community. We have spent the past few months talking with members of the community through surveys, phone calls and chatting on the forums to learn about all the things you like about Expo and all the things you wish Expo would do to make the site even better for you. And we think we’ve accomplished just that with the relaunch of the Rewards Program and Member Profiles. I know you are all anxious to know the nitty-gritty details, so we’ll do our best to go over all the major upgrades:

New Rewards.
Starting today, Expo will offer ‘points’ to members for their contributions and participation on the site. You’ll earn anywhere between 300-2500 points for uploading videos to Expo and can now earn rewards for new activities like getting new friends to sign up, answering questions and taking surveys. Click here for more details on ways to redeem points. But the best place to look is in the Expo Store itself which can be found in your new Member Profile.

Big Prizes.
In addition to all the points that can be earned for completing video assignments and doing other activities on the site, we’ll be running monthly giveaways for all the other video reviews you submit. It’s our way of making sure you feel like you can share your opinions on all products all the time no matter what. And this month, we’re giving away an LG flat screen TV.

More Product Samples.
We’ve got several new sampling programs coming out over the next few weeks. You can learn all about them by clicking here. The best way to ensure you are considered for upcoming free product sampling programs is to keep your personal information up to date and to complete surveys that are sent to you. It’s the only way we’ll know enough about you to match you with relevant product samples.

You may ask, Now that the new rewards program has arrived how should I get started? We suggest visiting your member profile to check out all the new features and to update your profile information; that way we can start sending you the most relevant offers. Your profile will be your home base – all invitations will be sent directly to you there.

If you have any questions about how the new program works, check out our FAQs section. If you come across any problems or find that something is broken, please visit this forum thread for instructions on how to report bugs.

And feel free to leave any questions or feedback in this blog post – we’d love to hear from you!

PS - With all these site enhancements, we had to update the terms and conditions. Please review the updated General Terms & Conditions and Member Terms & Conditions (previously referred to as Content Submission Terms & Conditions).

Hope you enjoy the new and improved site!

- The Expo Team

Trackback this post 4 comments September 28th, 2009 Jess

100 Gift Card Options to Choose From in the Expo Store

The relaunch is just one week away…so for the rest of this week we thought we’d give you more details about the point system and how you can earn and redeem them.

The best part about our new program? You won’t have to spend what seems like forever building up enough points before you can redeem them. We’ve structured the new rewards program so that you’ll have enough points to redeem for a gift card or some other merchandise in the store after making just a few videos. Most members will earn enough points in about two weeks to redeem them for gift cards from close to 100 different retailers.

Here’s a sample of all the different places you can get gift certificates to – both physical and electronic:
• Amazon.com
• Netflix
• iTunes
• Zappos
• Pottery Barn
• Applebee’s
• Barnes & Noble
• Overstock.com
• Dog.com
• Nike
• Crutchfield
• Sephora

The list goes on and on – there is really something for everyone in the Expo Store.

Plus there’s no minimum number of points that you have to have before you can redeem so it is up to you to decide how frequently you want to cash in your points.

The Expo Store is all about how YOU want to control your rewards. We think it’s exciting and can’t wait to see it in action very soon!

Trackback this post 19 comments September 21st, 2009 Sarah

Final Details of Relaunch Revealed — All-New Rewards Program

The entire relaunch is designed around one simple goal – rebuilding the site to meet the varying needs of our community. Every member has their own needs and uses the site in their own way. The new profile pages are designed to allow you to let your personality shine through and the private profile is a tool designed to let you take control of your participation.

So, it’s only fitting that we put the incentives in your control too! Starting September 29th we will transition to a point-based rewards program that will award points to you for various site activities. You will earn points for many of the same activities that you are currently getting compensated for, plus you will now be able to earn points for other activities that you weren’t rewarded for in the old system.

Here’s a look at the new area in your profile to keep track of the points you’ve earned and what you’ve redeemed points for:

And here’s a overview of most of the site activities that will earn you points:
• Sharing information about yourself (this also helps you get selected for more programs)
• Reviewing products
• Taking surveys
• Answering questions about products you’ve reviewed
• Participating in video assignments
• Inviting friends to join Expo
• And More!

The points that you will earn for these activities will have real value good towards merchandise and gift cards within the Expo Store. The best part about it this new points-based program is that you can choose when and how often to cash in your points — no more waiting! Plus, the Expo Store houses tons of products such as ring tones, kitchen gadgets, kids toys and games, gift cards, and even large electronics like a flat screen TV.

Here’s a preview of what the Expo Store will look like when redeeming points:

We’re really excited about this new rewards program and can’t wait to hear your feedback! From now until the official relaunch, we will provide you with more details on the Expo Store and the types of things you can redeem your points for. In the meantime, feel free to leave comments or questions below.

Trackback this post 33 comments September 16th, 2009 Sarah

Enhancing the Member Experience on Expo

It’s time for another preview of exciting things to come at Expo! Last week we gave you a sneak peek at the public profile page face lift that is going to launch on September 29. Today we’d like to share with you the brand new private profile page and a super smart, new upload process — both of which are designed to make your experience using Expo much easier!

Let’s start with the private profile page. This will now be your go-to page when logging on to Expo. Anything you need to know about what’s happening on the site will be at your fingertips. We’ll be sending you invitations to take surveys to see if you qualify for Tryology programs and will be inviting you to participate in video assignments right on your own profile page - no more checking an assignment page or looking for email from Expo staff!

This new profile area will help you stay organized and allows you to accept assignments right then and there so we don’t give up your spot to someone else!

Here’s a sneak peek at the new private profile page (click image to see a bigger version):

Here’s an overview of some of the new private profile features (all may not be available at launch):

• Invitations to take surveys
• Invitations to participate in Tryology programs and video assignments
• Reminders for assignments that are due soon
• A nifty little widget that allows you to invite friends to join right from your profile page

Another exciting development that we’ll be launching is the all-new upload process, what we will be calling the Video Queue. You’ll be able to add assignments and products to your video queue and upload your videos at a later date. Even better, you’ll be able to upload more than one video at a time! It’ll allow you to better manage the products you want to review and the assignments you want to participate in.

Here’s a preview of what the video queue will look like:

There is obviously a lot more involved with both of these site upgrades and we will be posting FAQs for everything when we relaunch, so don’t worry too much about how it all works. But, if you are intrigued and want to know now, feel free to post any feedback, questions or comments below.

We’re really thrilled about what’s to come and can’t wait to share even more with you. Stay tuned because later this week we’ll reveal our all-new incentive program!

Trackback this post 6 comments September 14th, 2009 Sarah

Exciting changes on the horizon for Expo

It’s been quite a while since we’ve done any upgrading to the community area on the site. The last major upgrade focused on site enhancements for users that came to Expo for product research. So I couldn’t be more excited to announce that on September 29th Expo will relaunch the community area and rewards program. We’ve been working on so many new features over the past few months that it’s only fair that we start to preview some of them with the community before the official unveiling. One of the most impressive upgrades is happening to the member profile pages.

Here’s a look at my profile which doesn’t provide you much color as to what type of member or consumer/shopper I am. The new profile pages will do that and more.

Here’s a ’sneak peak’ at the new public profile page design:


And here’s an overview of the new features (some will be ready at launch and a few others will roll out shortly thereafter):

• Favorites: tell the world what your favorite movie, gadget or snack is
• Find Me On: this is a spot for you to promote your Facebook, Twitter or Blog (or all three!)
• Featured Video: promote your most prized review front and center for all to see
• Star Ratings: a nifty little bar chart that lets people know how tough you are when rating products
• Brands I Like: a grab and go module that lets you broadcast your favorite brands
• Products I Own: we’ll display the newest gadgets that you’ve reviewed

This is just the start. We are developing a new interface for members to manage their videos and invitations. Gone are the days when you get a newsletter or email from someone at Expo and need to hold onto it to remember what the assignment was or what the deadline was. The private profile is getting a total overhaul and will now help you manage your incoming invitations to Tryology Programs and video assignments and will also allow you to keep track of the videos that you are planning on recording at any point in time. It’s kind of like a Netflix queue for all of you who have Netflix. I will be posting previews of this and other new features throughout the next couple of weeks as we near the official relaunch.

If you have any questions or comments on the new public profile page (or anything else) leave a comment below or send me a note on the site!

Hope you are as excited as we are!

The Expo Team

Trackback this post 9 comments September 11th, 2009 Jess