Last week, OneSpout.com was down for a whole day because our CEO, Antonio , forgot to renew the domain name. We asked you to help us come up with a punishment for him and got a great response!

Now the sentiment of our users ranged greatly.  One suggestion,

FIRE ANTONIO, FIRE ANTONIO, FIRE ANTONIO. But if you like him, then maybe firing is a bit extreme.
- Deborah

was interesting but since he takes out the garbage every week we decided he might still be useful to keep around.  The most popular suggestions had to do with cross-dressing and various forms of hair removal that we’d never even heard of (epilator?).

After careful deliberation, we combined a couple of our favourites that we felt properly fit the crime:

I’ve been thinking and for this near treasonous act, one could pull an old CIA interrogation technique by forcing Antonio to sit through the entire David Hasselhoff discography. Should this not be effective, play season 1 of Knight Rider while listening. Surely he’ll break.
- @coachmichaella

Forehead tattoo: OneSpout and a good old-fashioned dunce cap!
- Dave

Here are some of the pics of Antonio’s punishment.

The Hasselhoff thing ended up backfiring —  turns out Antonio really loves David Hasselhoff.

Ooga Chakka! Hooga Hooga! Ooga Chakka!

OneSpout forehead tattoo!

Thanks to all of our users for putting up with Antonio’s blatant disregard for all of you.  He would like to re-assure you that not only has he registered the domain name for the next 5 years, but he has also set himself a reminder on his microwave alarm for 5 years from now (let’s just hope the power doesn’t go out until then).

Yelp is the most popular review site for local merchants and now we’re making it easy to find these reviews on the OneSpout site so you can make sure you’re getting the best deals!

How to find deals at the top rated businesses:

1. Go to http://onespout.com/deals
2. Scroll your mouse over to “SORT BY”
3. Select “Yelp Reviews”

At OneSpout, we are working to bring you the best deals. So naturally, OneSpout and Yelp go hand in hand, like peas and carrots. And who doesn’t like that?

Here’s some more information about Yelp in case you haven’t used it before.

2 years later, daily deals are still around, but they’ve changed quite a bit.  Not only are there deals on local businesses, but also steep discounts on products that I can redeem online.  In theory, this is great; who wants to pay retail for products like DVD boxsets and video game hardware?

Of course, you can’t always count on theories – the amount of deals featuring these products is enormous!  And since they’re available everywhere online, they always seem to crowd out the deals on great local businesses that got me hooked on daily deals in the first place!

Foul!  Suddenly I’m having trouble finding the deals I want – that’s the very reason I started OneSpout in the first place!  If there’s tons of noise in my inbox, how am I supposed to find the gems that *I* want?

Fear not, fellow dealophiles!  I’m not just one of the founders of OneSpout, I’m also a client.  And as a client, I DEMAND a better way to sort through all the noise.

It’s time for a new category: Online deals.  Starting today, we’ve split up Local and Online deals into separate feeds.  No more deals for supplements clogging up the space for your Local deals!  No more bootcamp deals getting in the way of your Online deals!

To  get started, just click on the link in the header for the kind of deals you’re interested in.  If you’re signed up for our daily e-mail, you can login to edit your settings and ensure you’re only getting the deals you want.

Image provided in case you don't know where the header is

Friends, a new era is dawning for daily deal enthusiasts!  We’ve finally got the tools to make sure that we’re getting the best deals.  Whether you’re looking for a new place to check out for brunch or an insane deal on some new threads, OneSpout users KNOW that retail is for suckers!

Forbes reported on Tuesday that MasterCard announced that it plans to get involved in the daily deals sector. This will happen through a partnership with Local Offer Network, a company in Chicago.

MasterCard was quoted as saying the goal behind this is to “help reinforce merchant and issuer connectivity with consumers through mobile, social media and traditional shopping channels.”

Research Daily Deals

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about researching online daily deals. It tells readers to make sure they know exactly what they are getting with each deal. The article advises buyers to read the fine print of deal descriptions and look into return policies.

Here at OneSpout we’re always looking for ways to make sure you get the best deals.  We already show the Fine Print of deals front and center – is there anything else you’d like to see?  Comment on this post if you have any ideas!

We have an exciting announcement! We have randomly drawn the winner of the Daily Deals for a Year Contest.

We want to congratulate …

*Drum roll*

Zamina Sunderji

Congrats Zamina and we hope you enjoy a whole year of free daily deals! Thank you to everybody who entered!

mmm...steak

You can fave any deal on the site, for whatever reason you want (as long as you’re logged in).  I personally fave every deal that I have bought, so that I can keep track of the pile of deals I have available to me across different sites.

We’ve added the ability to fave deals from the deals list as well as the deal details page – just look for the little heart next to the sharing links.  If the heart is red, your deal is faved!

Sushi is always fresher when it's faved

We’re planning a few more features around this concept when we get some time (perhaps an email reminder when your deals are about to expire).  For now, just remember – a deal faved is a deal saved!

The OneSpout staff is super excited about a great contest we currently have going on! You can Win Daily Deals for a Year ($3,650 Value). For a whole year you can receive 100% off any deal from our site!

All you have to do is enter and then share the contest with your friends, family, co-workers, and cat (warning, this will only work if your cat is tech savvy).

To make this contest even more exciting: if a friend you shared the contest with wins, we will give BOTH of you daily deals for a year!

Don’t miss your chance. Enter now and start dreaming of all the free meals, massages, and sport events you can attend. Good luck!

This month, clicking the Valentines icon will modify your search to show you the deals we think are most suited for Valentine’s Day.

Things like cheap admission to a chocolate-making workshop, major savings on a downtown Toronto hotel room and half off a pair of engraved rings are some of the deals that might pop up.

Now of course, we know not everyone will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with a romantic partner this year, so check out these daily deals for some fun with friends or for a nice treat for yourself.

• Craft Winemaking Experience from The Wine Butler (Toronto)
• 6 exercise classes (Toronto)
  
• 6-hour photography workshop (Montreal)
• $10 ticket to Anti-Valentine’s Day Party (Vancouver or Toronto)

You can search for more daily deals on our site to find one that suits you.

Last half of 2011 not good for many daily deal sites

Techcrunch.com reported that 798 daily deal sites went belly-up during the last six months of 2011. The information comes from a Daily Deal Media report. The data also tell us about region-specific changes in the daily deal industry. To read the Techcrunch.com article, click here.

Bank of America offers daily deals?

BankAmeriDeals are one of the latest additions to the daily deal world. Bank of America is gradually beginning to offer shopping discounts to their cardholders. This new system is said to be a way of rewarding those who do online banking. For more information, read the original Investorplace.com article.

E-commerce in Indonesia to grow

Daily Deal Media reported that “Indonesia is emerging as one of the most robustly growing e-commerce destinations in Asia and across the world.”

This comes from a combination of a few factors, says the article, including a good-sized population, more internet usage and economic growth.

The e-commerce growth in Indonesia is happening largely through Multiply.com, a top social networking site there. It has become an e-commerce brand in the country, the article says.

To read more, click here.

How many of us have resolved to save more money or spend less money or something along those lines? Coupons and online deals can cut costs tremendously and might even open up new luxury opportunities that might have seemed out of financial reach before. For example, a trip to the spa might be way out of your normal budget, but if you find the right deal, it could easily end up within your grasp.

Daily deals can probably help you make your other new year’s resolutions happen too. Whether it’s losing weight, quitting smoking, learning a new skill or taking a trip, there is most likely a daily deal out there that can help you stick to your 2012 budget.

Here are some deals that might interest you:

1. If you want to lose weight

$20 for 20 Drop-In Classes to Hot Yoga Toronto ($240 Value)

$25 for a 3 Month All Inclusive Gym Membership Plus 30% Off Tanning Packages – Two Great Locations to Choose From!

2. If you want to quit smoking

$35 for Smokeless e-Cigarette and Lifetime Free Refills with Free Shipping! ($1500 Value)

$49 for One Hypnotherapy Session to Stop Smoking Permanently or Lose Weight For Good

3. If you want to learn something new

$27 for a Snowshoeing Adventure from Toronto Adventures Inc (a $54 value)

$10 for 20 Kung Fu, Hardcore Kickboxing or Sanshou Classes from Bamboo Kung Fu ($220 Value)

4. If you want to travel

$164 for a 4-Night Family Getaway at the Sea Garden Resort in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico ($730 Value)

5. If you want to save money

$49 for a Wash, Cut, Clear Gloss Treatment, Style and Full Colour

$34 for 12 Replacement Oral B Compatible Precision Clean Toothbrush Heads Including Tax and Shipping from Widget Love ($120 Value)

We hope our daily deals can help make all your 2012 resolutions come true. Happy New Year!

Written by Sarah Munn