A few days ago Google App Engine was launched, a new platform for hosting (and scaling) your web applications. The platform received much attention in the blogosphere and of course comparisons with Amazons EC2 were quickly made in major tech blogs.

We were especially excited to hear that Google had chosen the Python for their App Engine implementation. Our project is largely build in Python using the Django framework… So we rushed towards Google’s website to get beta access, and have our lead engineer test drive the new system! First impression: although it’s still very much beta, it looks very promising. Our lead will write an in depth post about the App Engine and Django in general, as soon as he has some free time (which should be somewhere around 2011 ) Read the rest of this entry »

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Although we weren’t able to attend The Next Web Conference this year because of our busy development-schedule, we did keep a close watch through the live feeds. It’s great that a small country like ours hosts a conference with such an impressive line-up of speakers and events! For anyone who missed the 2008 edition too; you can find an overview of the blog-, twitter- and other mediacoverage here.

Anyway, we hope to see you at The Next Web Conference 2009, and who knows…you might even see us in the list of startup pitches

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After a long time of developing we have finally raised the curtain a little bit! We now have a live partner-area where selected online retailers can subscribe. When registered, partners can manage their own account and information online.

YouTellMe offers retailers an exciting new platform to display and promote their product offerings. Our innovative technology makes it easier for consumers to choose the right product and store. With less effort, consumers will be able to make better decisions. Stores can benefit through increased conversion and more satisfied customers.

Registrering is easy, in 3 simple steps retailers can create an account. We will personally review every subscription and activate those accounts that comply with our terms and criteria. Please note that registering is only possible for retailers in the Netherlands and Belgium right now.

Visit the partner-area at partner.youtellme.nl

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A few days ago, Jason Calcanis from Mahalo.com wrote a blog post entitled: How to save money running a startup (17 really good tips). After posting it, he received numerous critical comments from bloggers everywhere. Michael Arrington on Techcrunch was a bit milder and endorsed many of the points made in the original post.

Although we are still puzzled by the Mahalo business model, we at YouTellMe do relate to many of the points made in Jason’s post. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sometimes you can’t resist doing something that you are bound to regret…Kinda what I felt like when I was clicking the download button for Microsofts IE8 Beta. We’re in the process of optimizing for browser compatibilty for our own beta launch here at YouTellMe HQ, and we’ve got FF, IE6 & IE7 pretty much done after days of finding CSS hacks, Javascipt bugs and other mysterious incompatibilities.

In comes IE8…and it’s back to work… Not just for us, every webdeveloper will have to get into checking and getting their website compatible for IE8. Here’s some of the major sites we all know, seen through microsofts new browser.

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Happy new year to all!

My new year’s resolution is to further expand our talented team working at YouTellMe HQ. We are looking for exceptional individuals with an extreme passion for their work.
If you’ve (secretly) been dreaming about working for a young startup, where small teams achieve great things, then you’re hereby invited for a cup of coffee! We can guarantee that you will get the full startup experience and work with people who share your drive and passion.

We are currently looking for:

• Python/Javascript software engineer
• Front-end webedeveloper (CSS)
• Sales consultant

For more info, please check our jobs page.

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Today Joost and Thijs, the founders of YouTellMe, are featured in an article in Metro about young entrepreneurs. The article features several young companies from the incubator ‘Area 010‘ where we are located. This also means that our PR offensive has now officially started. If you strive for world domination, then there is no better place to start than… your local newspaper. To read the article, pick up a newspaper or download this PDF sheet: Metro Article YouTellMe

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On this blog we will keep you posted on YouTellMe, thé new European social shopping website. The company founders (Joost Nauta & Thijs Goos) as well as our top engineers (Rick van Hattem & Thierry Schellenbach) will write about all the fascinating aspects of founding a new business and developing an innovative internet application. Through this blog we will keep you posted on all the (technological) challenges we face during this start-up phase.

In this opening post we will start by unveiling some information about the concept of YouTellMe, which is currently still under fierce development: we started YouTellMe out of frustration with the existing product and price comparison websites. Our goals was to build a web application where everyone can easily compare products and determine their personal optimal choice. From hotels to dishwashers, from cars to televisions, we want to make a meaningful product comparison online. This might sound like a simple goal to some, but in reality it’s a very tough one to crack. That’s why we have reserved considerable time and resources for the development of the concept and the required technology.

In the past months our team has reviewed all possible comparison methodologies, interfaces and web technologies. After many tests, prototypes, frantic coding and long hours, we have developed a new revolutionary method of product comparison on the internet. We have incorporated the latest insights in the fields of marketing and market research in our concept. In addition, our engineers have pushed the technology to its very edge to the make the application a reality. Although we are still in the alpha testing phase, I’m incredibly proud of the accomplishments our team has achieved so far. We can’t wait to reveal the concept to the rest of the world, and on this blog we’ll keep you posted on our final steps towards launch.

We hope you will check in regularly on our blog, and I would love to see your name on our list of beta testers (you can register here).

Joost Nauta - Founder

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