Oh! Gizmo

By David Ponce

[ Disclosure: This post concerns a paid campaign currently running on the site. ]

Toshiba’s been running a campaign called Laptop Experts (which we’ve talked before), that’s been gaining some decent traction. It’s not a simple “Look at my banner; come buy my product” deal. Instead, they’ve built a site where users can ask questions about their computer problems (any computers, not just Toshiba’s) and a small team of experts has been given the task of answering them. While anyone can answer questions, those tackled by the experts get labeled as such. And believe me, there’s no lack of questions.

Now you too can become an expert… if you’ve got what it takes. Visit this page and submit your application. If accepted, you will be granted expert status and will be able to contribute to the growing community.

[ Become An Expert ]

By David Ponce

I want to take a second to talk to you about something you may find useful. But let me make it clear it concerns a paid campaign currently running on the site.

Some of you may know we have been partners with Federated Media for all graphical ads on OhGizmo! for quite some time. We love them not only for making it possible to make a living without showing you ads about punching a monkey to get a free iPod, but also because the FM team really likes to think outside the box.

Case in point, the Toshiba “Laptop Experts” campaign. On this site, readers can ask about their computer problems (not restricted to Toshiba products, by the way) and may get their questions answered by one of the several bloggers participating. Up until recently, the only way to get a question answered was by visiting the site and posting your question. But now there’s a little widget you can download (pictured above), allowing you to ask anything you like right from your desktop, without ever needing to even open a browser window. Your question will then be submitted to the team and you’ll be notified if and when it gets answered.

The download link is below. You should be aware that you’ll need to install Adobe AIR to get it working, but it is pretty slick.

[ Laptop Experts Widget ]