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From The Makers Of Woot.com: Meh.com

by Alicia Lu

If you've ever used daily deals site Woot.com, then you're probably familiar with the website's distinct sense of humor. And you'll be happy to know that Woot's founder has launched Meh.com, a simpler version that offers less deals but doesn't skimp on the laughs. After retail giant Amazon acquired Woot.com in 2010, its creator, Matt Rutledge, decided to launch a redesigned daily deal site with a twist. Judging by the description on its Kickstarter page, it's worth checking out.

The setup is simple — according to the Kickstarter page, Meh.com is "keeping it simple & stupid." There's only one deal per day, and customers have the choice to either click Buy It or Meh. Under each item is a rather unconventional product description. For example, Thursday's daily deal is the Speck CandyShell Case for the iPad Mini, and some of the product specs include "Absorbs shocks instead of teaching your iPad mini how to deal with problems on its own" and "Not compatible with iPad maxi."

In addition to the product description, each item comes with statistics that show how many people clicked on the site that day vs. how many people clicked Buy It. The stats highlight the percentage of people who passed, congratulating them for not biting with a "Nice job!" Next to the stats is a daily poll related to the item being sold, and it further illustrates the company's emphasis on humor. From the looks of things, the company really prioritizes humor.

It's almost as if the daily deal is secondary to the Onion-like descriptions and interactive components. There's even a comments section for each deal to encourage discussions on the products, or anything at all.

And there's a community section with the FAQs and random questions thrown in, sometimes pertaining to current pop culture events.

The one-deal-a-day premise of Meh.com is a stark contrast to the agglomeration of apparel, appliances, gadgets, and other random stuff on Woot.com. Even though the site has been bought out by the super corporate mega-retailer Amazon and former CEO Matt Rutledge is no longer associated with Woot (he stepped down as CEO in 2012), the company has retained its unique brand of snark and humor.

When the acquisition was announced in 2010, Rutledge penned a tear-inducing letter, titled "Amazon, Woot, and You: But Mostly Woot," to his employees ensuring that the company culture would not change. By tear-inducing, I mean the ROFL kind.

"We think now is the right time to join with Amazon because, quite simply, every company that becomes a subsidiary gets two free downloads until the end of July, and we very much need that new thing with Trent Reznor’s wife on our iPods," Rutledge writes to his employees. "Other than that, we plan to continue to run Woot the way we have always run Woot — with a wall of ideas and a dartboard.... Our business model is so vague that there’s no way Amazon can possibly change what it is we’re truly doing: preparing the way for the rise of the Lava Men in 2012."

And now the company is having even more fun with Meh. The project's Kickstarter campaign, which boldly states "Our Project: 24 Hours to More Powerful Orgasms," gained 1,413 backers and $14,777, well over its $10,000 goal, by the end of the funding period on June 28. The site officially launched on Wednesday, so you can go there now and browse the deal (singular). And just remember: the company actually encourages you to go crazy with the Mehs.

Watch the company's promo video below, which features its "spokestroll" talking about the return of the daily deal and includes a presentation called "BigShot Business Talks: Presented by Leading Business BigShots."

Images: Kickstarter, Meh.com, Woot.com