Check out our new demo video, “What is AlikeList?” below. Many thanks to Rico and the rest of the team at Transvideo Studios for doing such a fabulous job!
Contrary to popular belief, Twitter is about more than just telling people “I ate oatmeal for breakfast.” It’s actually a great place to find news and entertainment updates, get special deals and discounts and even find a job. (That’s what our new Director of Social Marketing did!)
News: Get real-time news updates like a California earthquake or the Hudson plane crash before there’s a peep about it in the media.
Entertainment: It’s not stalking – it’s following! Follow your favorite movie stars, food critics, athletes and more to get an inside glimpse of what they’re like when they aren’t being chased by paparazzi.
Networking: Find people who like peanut-butter and pickle sandwiches just like you! And keep tabs on business contacts to see what conferences they’ll be attending and any new ventures they’re tackling.
Deals and discounts: Follow your favorite hotels, airlines, stores, bars and more because they often tweet special offers just for their Twitter followers.
Knowledge of the masses: Have a question? Forget searching for the answer on Google. Just type in (for example), “Do fish hiccup?,” to get an immediate response from your friends and followers.
Find a job: Here’s some proof that this actually works – A few months ago, our future Director of Social Marketing decided to search for a Sr. Social Marketing position within her own playground – Twitter.
“I used Twitter to discover social media panels and events to meet the kind of people I like to know and work with. Dave Allen of Pampelmoose (@pampelmoose) spoke at an HP social media panel and SF Music Tech (#sfmusictech). He introduced me to ‘Frosty’ from HP (@frostola), who didn’t have an exact date for an opening on his team, but referred me to a blogger/Ad exec/event producer with interesting tweets (@britopian). Brito’s blog listed a few great opportunities exactly in the space I wanted to be in and a couple of weeks later, I happily joined AlikeList as the new Director of Social Marketing. I heart Twitter.”
RT this if your found it helpful!
Tags: deals, find a job, networking, Twitter
We’re all consumers. On any given day, we might go out for lunch, get the oil checked or buy a friend a birthday gift. We want to know that what we’re spending our money on is worth it (and that’s what AlikeList is for!) But in addition to AlikeList, there are lots of helpful sites out there that can help you make wise decisions when buying products or services, such as:
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
http://www.bbb.org/ : Find BBB Accredited Businesses, access reports on specific businesses or (knock on wood) file a complaint.
Diamond Certified
http://diamondcertified.com : Use this site to find only the highest quality contractors and service providers in the SF Bay Area.
Consumer Reports
http://www.consumerreports.org : Read reviews of consumer products, find deals and promotions for what you’re looking for and stay up-to-date on the newest products.
CNET
http://reviews.cnet.com/ : When it comes to quality reviews of electronics and software, this is the place to go. You get the editor’s rating and the average user’s rating, too.
UrbanSpoon
http://www.urbanspoon.com : Like CNET, UrbanSpoon gives your restaurant reviews from “critics, food bloggers and friends,” so you can decide whom to believe!
TripAdvisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ : Before travelling, make sure the expensive resort you’ll be staying at is worth its price. And find some fun things to do while you’re there, too.
Now that we’ve given you some helpful tips, give us some! We’re always trying to improve AlikeList to make it more useful for we consumers, and the best way to do that is to communicate! So don’t be shy – let us know what you think at feedback@alikelist.com
Tags: BBB, Consumer Reports, Feedback, Recommendations, Tips
February: The three founders (Jim, Michael and Rob) complete the Alpha version of AlikeList.com for personal and family user testing
March: The founders move into an office space in Sunnyvale, CA and hire the first team members
April: The spec for Alpha2 is completed based on user feedback. We improve search, browsing and social relevance functionality, too. More talented folks are hired.
June: Lots of product-testing and bug-fixing to get the site ready for the Beta launch
- But there’s still time to play with the Alpha version from remote locales! AlikeList’s growing staff members hit popular vacation spots such as Seattle and Tahoe.
July: “Soft” launch: AlikeList Beta goes live!! The staff invites all their friends and family to join and try
August: We invite 500,000 people to check out and provide feedback on AlikeList via BzzAgent. We garner extremely valuable feedback for next version.
- AlikeList is busting at the seams with people! We move in to a bigger office space
September: Second Beta version launches
- Inspired by user feedback and our own determination to make the site more intuitive, fast and helpful, we start working on a new layout and features for the site
October: Mark Law (from AOL-owned MapQuest) and lots of other really talented product design, development and engineering people join us!
November: Company party at Strike Bowling Alley – a brief break in the sprint to complete development on V1.0 before the Holidays
- More product-testing. AlikeList staff work around the clock to get the site ready for it’s big Dec. Launch
December: Version 1.0 launches!
- We’re excited to get some rave reviews and feedback after announcing our funding, new site enhancements & the addition of Mark Law and team members.
(Read reviews in VentureBeat, Screenwerk, Local Onliner and more here.)
Looking into 2010:
We hope to make the site even better! As always, user feedback will help us make further refinements based on the real life usage of AlikeList. And we’ll add new functionalities to help people simplify their daily lives!
Tags: 2009, AlikeList, Product Release, timeline
Today AlikeList broke the sound barrier. Or at least it feels like we did. We’ve been working around the clock (literally) for the past few months redesigning the site interface, adding ProSites for business owners, and simplifying search and share capabilities. Let me break it down for you:
- More user-friendly interface: Think “iTunes playlist meets AlikeList.” Easily create custom LikeLists for different uses (e.g., Fix It List, Sushi List, even “PlayList” for your favorite playgrounds perhaps) that contain narrowly categorized businesses based on any criteria you dream of.
- ProSites: Short for “Promotional Sites,” ProSites are free mini- sites where businesses add and update helpful information about their business – all they have to do is claim their listing. And that’s not all! Businesses can also create Instant Offers and messages for customers, monitor current and prospective client bases, and more.
- Community Home Pages: Your current home page on steroids! Now you can see the most-Liked and newly-Liked businesses where you live or work, in real-time, to help you stay in-the-know!
- Easier Search by Category & Sort buttons so you find exactly what you’re looking for – quickly.
Bottom line:
AlikeList is easier yet more useful than ever. Now you can find, save, share and organize your Likes with ease. Plus, more businesses claiming their ProSites means more information and special deals for you!
We hope you like it and invite all your friends to AlikeList, —the more friends you have, the more trusted business recommendations you’ll get.
BTW, since we’ve added a lot of new functions, please don’t hesitate to share your feedback with us at feedback@alikelist.com.
Tags: AlikeList, Launch, Product Release, ProSite
Michael McConachie (COO and Co-founder) tells the story of how he and Jim Delli Santi (CEO and Co-founder) first came up with idea of AlikeList in the winter of 2006.
For my family, vacations are an exercise in exploration. We love to go on adventures and try new places, and our winter vacation in 2006 was no different. We were visiting my parents in Phoenix, AZ and wanted to take a few days with the kids to go someplace new.
The Enchantment Resort nestled in the Sedona canyon.
I had called my friend Jim Delli Santi who I knew had spent some time in the Phoenix area recently and he recommended the Enchantment Resort in Sedona. The suggestion fit the bill for our family perfectly: the Enchantment Resort offers a cool par-3 golf course, helicopter tours(the concierge suggested Maverick Airstar) and the many quaint shops in Sedona. Something for everyone.
We’re checking out Sedona one afternoon and I realize I had not made dinner reservations for that evening. We’re in the mood for American-style food at a nice restaurant, but one that isn’t too upscale (our sons hate upscale restaurants). So I call Jim again and ask him for a restaurant recommendation. Jim immediately comes up with the perfect recommendation – Rene at Tlaquepaque. Nice restaurant, French and American cuisine and family friendly.
Jim and I begin to talk about the process of getting recommendations from those we trust and realize how valuable it would be if recommendations from trusted friends were online and accessible 24×7. Better yet would be if they were accessible from your computer and mobile devices while you travel. Additionally, what if we could connect with businesses to make a reservation, and they could contact us too? And what if we could easily refer our favorite businesses to our friends? The possibilities just kept coming.
It also dawned on me that my entire trip had been planned via trusted word-of-mouth recommendations. Referrals from my parents, the concierge at the hotel and Jim. At that moment our mission was clear: we had to help people get trusted recommendations anywhere at anytime.
Michael McConachie
Tags: AlikeList, Enchantment Resort, Sedona, Word of mouth
Holiday gift shopping has officially begun. Unless you’re an unusually organized non-procrastinator, you might need some help shopping for family and friends – especially those who already have everything!
We have a solution! TryLists. Besides a great place to store businesses you want to try, Try Lists work well as Wish Lists too.
See how TryLists come to the rescue in this all-too-familiar holiday shopping scenario:
And all of this was made possible by AlikeList TryLists. Now go tell your real-life best friend about AlikeList – they certainly have a reason to join!
Tags: AlikeList, Gift Giving, TryList
Going Green is so “2008.” The cool trend this year was Local First. Local First campaigns encourage citizens to spend their money at locally-owned businesses in order to support their local community.
I guess you could say AlikeList is just jumping on the bandwagon, but we started doing it first! Well, that’s an exaggeration, but AlikeList’s mission since its conception in 2006 has been two-fold: To help solve life’s daily problems (like “Oh no! The roof’s leaking!) and to help our favorite local businesses thrive. We know it’s tempting, and often a habit, to run to Walmart to pick up some household items, but it’s much better for your community to head to a locally-owned market first. Why?
Because:
- It helps your local economy thrive: For every $100 spent at a chain, only $13 remain in the community while $45 remains when spent with a local business.
- Supporting local businesses is good for the environment because it requires less fuel for transportation and packaging.
- Local businesses care much more about their community, since that’s where they live. Local business owners are often on community boards that serve important local causes and charities. Non-profits on an average receive 250% more support from local businesses than from non-locally owned ones.
- Local business owners care a lot more about their customers. They often hire people who have a better understanding of their product or service than non-locally owned businesses. Plus, if a local store doesn’t carry something you’re looking for, they’re so eager for your business that that they’ll often accommodate your unique needs.
- Supporting local businesses preserves your local culture. I’m sure you’ve been to cities that are over-run with corporate-owned chain stores. Well the way to avoid that fate for your town is to prevent your local Black Dog Coffee Shop from getting pushed out of business by Starbucks – by spending your money locally!
One last thing: with the gift-giving season around the corner you are probably tempted to shop on Amazon.com and other e-retailers because they have huge inventories and can deliver to your house. But again, resist temptation! Many cities have started “Gift local” campaigns to combat e-commerce, and I challenge you to support them!
I got info from these great sites:
Organizations that have “Gift local” campaigns:
http://www.coloradolocalfirst.com/
http://sonomacounty.golocal.coop/holiday/
http://www.keeplouisvilleweird.com/holiday/index.htm
Other Local First sites
http://www.sustainhawaii.org/left-menu/programs
http://sonomacounty.golocal.coop/holiday/
http://www.keepitlocalparsons.com/
http://www.thinklocalfirstdc.com/why-think-local-first/
Tags: Community, Gift local, local business, Local first
AlikeList is proud to announce a partnership with DonorsChoose.org — an organization that 1 out of 3 US schools has used to raise much-needed funds. In the spirit of the gift-giving season, let’s give back to our local schools (we know they need it!)
When you receive your GivingCard from DonorsChoose.org, you’ll be able to select a local school project to help fund — in your name! And unless you specify anonymity, your contribution will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to encourage your friends to join too!
It’s simple:
- 1. Join AlikeList at http://www.alikelist.com/givingcard1
- 2. Build a Like List with 20 of your favorite local businesses across 5 different categories (e.g. dentists, hair salons, auto mechanics, restaurants etc.)
- 3. Recruit 10 of your friends to join AlikeList and connect with you. Use the “invite friends” link on the top of your home page. (Since not everyone you invite will join, we suggest you invite at least 20-25 friends to start.)
Once we verify the completion of your participation, we’ll email you a $20 GivingCard to help fund a project at one of the thousands of under-funded schools on DonorsChoose.org. It’s not every day that you can donate to your local schools for free! How could you say no?
If you want to spread the word, please feel free to share this post on Facebook, Twitter or on your own blog! The program ends at Midnight PST on Dec. 31, 2009.
Note: This promotion is limited to people who aren’t already AlikeList users. AlikeList is built on the trust between friends & colleagues. We hope that you honor that by adding businesses that are truly your favorites, and that you get real-life friends to join AlikeList.
Giving Cards will be sent out in batches once a week, usually on Thursdays.
Tags: AlikeList, DonorsChoose, GivingCard, program
Hi there! My name’s Sarah and I’m the Customer Service Rep here at AlikeList. If I’ve learned anything doing Customer Service, it’s that our users don’t let us get away with anything! When they experience a technical problem or can’t figure out how to do something, they let us know (which is of course a good thing).
So I thought I’d share the two most common problems or questions users send in and respond.
1. User’s search returns 0 results:
“YOU DIDNT HAVE ONE RESTURANT LISTING FOR THE TOWN OF ENID, OKLAHOMA. THAT IS TERRIBLE.”
- LIZ
We actually have 10 pages of restaurants in Enid, OK. Liz probably got zero results because of our what-used-to-be picky city search. If Liz typed “enid, Oklahoma” instead of “Enid, OK,” the database would return a big nasty 0. But thanks to our hardworking team, that’s now been fixed. So go ahead and enter “enid ok,” “Enid, Oklahoma” – whatever – and the city will appear in the drop-down menu.
2. For business owners: How to add your own business to our listings.
“Hi! A customer of ours told us that they couldn’t find us on your site when they were searching for Computer Service & Repair businesses in the Carthage & Joplin, Missouri areas. What information do you need from us in order to be listed?”
- Shirley
If you’re a business owner, you can get your businesses added (for free) in two ways.
1) When you can’t find your business in the database, click the “Can’t find a business? Add it to AlikeList” link on the right-hand side of the page. Enter all your business’s info and make sure to check the “I am the owner of this business” box – that way, when we launch our Enhanced Business Pages you’ll be the first to know!
2) Send us an email at listings@alikelist.com with your Business Name, Address, Phone number, and Category of business. We’ll add it to our database within 24 hours.
So those are the two most common problems & questions that I’ve received. The other 99% of feedback is from people telling us that AlikeList is the best site in the world! (I wish…)
Tags: add a business, Customer Service, Feedback, search
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As You Like It: Ardenwood Historic Farm
A hidden gem tucked away in the East Bay is Ardenwood Historic Farm. The name for the ranch was inspired by Shakespeare’s mythical “Forest of Arden” found in the play As You Like It. And like the farm you will.
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Me, The Girl and the Fig
Last night I stopped by the girl & the fig, one of the most popular Sonoma restaurants according to AlikeList members, for a drink and to say hi to a couple of great bartenders, Fred and Mark.Fred, pictured left, made me the best gin & tonic I think I’ve ever had. I know he used [...]
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Seven Remedies and One Simple, Brilliant Concept
In an earlier post, my partner Jim Delli Santi describes the concept behind AlikeList, “we’re like word of mouth recommendations but better because we’re accessible anytime, anywhere—and you don’t even need the mouth!” The core concept is simple: Let like-minded friends post their lists of favorites, and let them share the lists with each other, [...]
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The Power of AlikeList: Friends Helping Friends
We started AlikeList to make it easier to help your friends and to get help from your friends. It is a simple idea that can mean saving time, saving money and sometimes saving your health. A very personal example comes to mind. I live in Chicago and with AlikeList in full swing, have been spending [...]
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The Founding of AlikeList
Michael, Rob and I came together because of our shared vision that consumers are long overdue for a local online service that simplifies Life.
We all know local living can be difficult sometimes. Life is coming at us on a daily basis and sometimes these local needs can overwhelm us. In any given day your car [...]
Twitter Updates
- AlikeList: SF Beer Week- Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream is serving different beer ice creams all week! http://bit.ly/cm8Ckr http:/ February 8, 2010
- AlikeList: SF Beer Week is in full swing! Check out the venues here: http://sfbeerweek.org/ and of course, add to your LikeList here: www.alikelist.com February 8, 2010
- AlikeList: No, thank you! RT @Britopian: @AlikeList thanks for the mention in your article - In Defense of Twitter http://bit.ly/doXtIC February 8, 2010
- AlikeList: RT @svmom: OVO by Cirque du Soleil (San Jose, CA.) Giveaway - Enter to win a pair of Valentine's Day tickets to see OVO http://bit.ly/b3p3YH February 5, 2010
- AlikeList: Claimed your listing on AlikeList, but don't know what to do next? Check out "So I claimed my listing..Now what?" http://bit.ly/8nLwPM February 5, 2010