This week’s GauchoTV is all about that most distinctively human of traits: laundry. Primarily it’s about what option makes the most sense for you. Should you break down and buy a washer and dryer even if you live in an apartment with no laundry hook-ups? (Spoiler alert: The answer is no.) Should you just keep going to the laundromat? Should you rent-to-own (Another spoiler alert: This answer is also no.) This week Marv employs some very low-rent versions of Alton Brown “Good Eats” camera trickery (putting the camera inside the dryer and shooting out from there), and also trespasses on his next door neighbor’s property to bring you the Top 5, which he loosely connects to the end of his favorite network drama. No, not Gray’s Anatomy.

Finally, with just a few seconds to spare, Marv tells you about the new Gaucho iPhone app which you can get for free right now from the iTunes app store. And it will also run on your iPad, if you’re so inclined. And a new feature added by billshrink.com that allows you to see if you’re getting the best cable or satellite TV deal right now. Both things are very cool.

So enjoy another installment in the show that fans call “the best short-form web show featuring a guy with weird facial hair wandering around yelling at a camera!” The critics agree, it’s better than those irritating Fred Figglehorn YouTube videos by a longshot.

Needless to say, we’re a busy bunch over here at Gaucho, but we really, really appreciate all of the support our users have given us over the last couple years.

And so, in celebrating these new changes on Gaucho.com, today we’ll be looking at some of the key feature improvements that we hope you’ll enjoy! And, hey, if you haven’t signed up for an account on Gaucho.com, you should go and do that now. It’s quick, free, and you get to access a fun and exciting savings-inspired community!

Navigation and Copy Changes

Our first set of changes comes to our navigation bar up top when you’re logged in. We’ve changed some of the key content, and it is most evident here. We’ve gotten rid of misleading links that don’t take you where you want to go. People have been telling us that you’ve been confused by the word “stamps” that we used to use. Now, we use the word “Savings.” A Saving is anything from a coupon, free shipping deal, savings tip, et cetera. We hope that this change will help others understand the purpose of the site much clearer.

You’ll also notice that the Blog is being put into the spotlight now as we are constantly improving content and are becoming a better resource for our users. W00T!

New and Improved Savings Design!

This was a pretty significant change, and probably one of my favorite. This global change on the look of Savings has been implemented to save some space, and bring more attention to the community behind the site. Our voting system is now more evident (and you’ve already been showing you understand it a lot better now), and savings aren’t nearly as cluttered and confusing as they were before.

Find Savings by Store and Type!

You’ve been asking for it, now it’s here! You can now browse Savings by type and store! Check it out in your sidebar, today! We’ve also brought Featured Savings and Recent Articles from the GauchoBlog in the sidebar for your love and attention!

There are a ton of other changes both graphical and otherwise that have been made on the site. Don’t forget to become a member on Gaucho.com to join the community!

What About the Blog?

The blog has done through and is undergoing more changes in the coming weeks. The most noticeable changes in terms of contest is our new list of writers that are creating amazing blocks of content for your reading pleasure. (Don’t forget, if you have an idea for another article you can join this amazing team as well and get paid for it – check out our Introduction to Writer’s page!) We’re presently giving you 3 amazing articles per week, 5 Daily Gift Ideas per week, a GauchoTV episode and every Friday we’re hosting a different Freeday Friday contest to celebrate our readers!

We’ve also gotten a new sidebar that threw our the trash and brought in things you really want to check out!

What do you think?

We’ve been working on these for a while now as we’ve been undergoing testing. I’d really like to give a hand to the team over at Gaucho for doing such an excellent job. When you see all the work that Damian and Dinesh to behind the scenes, you just can’t help be excited about the future of Gaucho.

What do you think? Do you see room for more improvements? Share your comments and suggestions in the comments, below!

Our old buddy Marv will be talking to Julia from The Frugal Find!

There will be giveaways, shopping news, and all the requisite hilarious technical difficulties that go along with a first live streaming webcast. Tune in and say you were there from the very beginning!

It seems there’s been some confusion out there with our Twitter friends and others. Sorry we didn’t explain this better. Here’s the deal.

GauchoTV

Gaucho TV is savings news, product reviews and general merriment in short, easily digestible segments brought to you by our buddy Marv.

GauchCast

Is now GauchoTV! We changed the name last week.

Live, Streaming GauchoTV

It’s GauchoTV. Only this week, we’ll start broadcasting live.

That’s right, starting Thursday February 25th at 9PM EST/6PM PST, GauchoTV will be streaming live, each week, every week.

For our first show, Marv will be talking to Julia from The Frugal Find. They’ll discuss ways to save, of course, plus they’ll give away prizes ($25 Gift Cards to Target), answer questions, give you the low-down on what savings blogs to follow, and even explain how you, yes you!, can start blogging.

You can tune into the premier of Live GauchoTV at Live.Gaucho.com.

In this episode of GauchoTV, Marv talks about DVRs and different ways to get entertainment out of your computer and into your TV. Also we talk about the upcoming GauchoTV LIVE event and introduce Marv’s twitter. Sound self-indulgent? Yeah, it probably is. But enjoy it nonetheless.

Don’t Forget! Next Week GauchoTV goes LIVE

When: Thursday, February 25 at 9EST/6PST

Where: Live.Gaucho.com

Links:

• Tivo
• Boxee

Follow Marv on Twitter

Blogs Here, Getcha Blogs Here

Have you ever been reading the GauchoBlog, or The Frugal Find, or any blog, and thought, ‘Oh, I could do that if I had someone to build a website for me.’

Awesome. Then we can’t wait to see the deals you blog about, because Gaucho is giving you your own free blog on GauchoPages. So if you’re not into designing your own blog, but you want to talk savings, Gaucho is the place to do it. Why are we doing this? Because. We love talking about savings, we love blogs, we love giving you free stuff, and we think you’re going to love your GauchoPage. Setup is a snap and the designs are sweet.

If you already have a blog, you can import your RSS feed and share your goods with the great Gaucho crowd.

See for Yourself: GauchoTV

Want to see a GauchoPage in action? Here’s our old buddy Marv’s new GauchoPage … and … drumroll please! — the new home of GauchoTV!

Get Your Own Page

Want your own GauchoPage? Cool. Just visit the Pages section of your Gaucho Profile.

If you don’t have a profile, sign up for Gaucho now to get going.

Well, if you’re a true-blooded Gaucho, you know that you can post your deal to the GSS to let the Gaucho crowd know about it.

But, if that’s not good enough for you, then pitch Gaucho.

That’s right, pitch Gaucho.

Pitch Gaucho

If you have a deal or a product that you’d like me to blog about or Marv to do a GauchoCast on, then hey, let us know. Tell us about your deal, and what makes it a good deal. Or, if you have a product that can help people to save money, tell us about it.

If we think you have a good enough deal or product, then we’ll write a post or create a video blog about it for the thousands of readers and watchers following the GauchoBlog. If that sounds good to you, just leave a comment on this blog post, or email our PR department at tolu@gaucho.net.

Exclusive Discounts

If you really want to get business rolling, email Tolu (tolu@gaucho.net) to discuss the possibility of promoting an exclusive discount within the Gaucho community.

Everyone is more than welcome to post their discounts to our GSS. But, not everyone gets promoted as a Gaucho partner offering an exclusive discount. If you have an exclusive discount that you want to offer the Gaucho community and we think it’s good enough, then we’ll include it in our email newsletter. Plus, we mightblog about it or do a video cast on it, too. It all depends.

You won’t find out until you contact us.

Why Are We Doing This?

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Meaning, what’s good for the Gauchos is good for Gaucho. We’re all about sharing the savings at Gaucho, so if you have some savings to share, let us know about your deal so we can share it with others.

See how nicely this works? I’m telling ya, we could be great together.

Now we’re asking you to take just a second of your time to help us out.

Please, vote for @GauchoSave to win a Shorty Award!!!

How: Can You Spare a Tweet?

It only takes a tweet. There are two ways to vote for us:

1. Visit the Shorty Awards and give us a tweet. Now, there’s no ‘Savings’ category, so please use the hashtag #savings when you vote.

2. If you’re like us, you’re Twitteraddicts and already have your favorite Twitter app open and ready for tweeting. Just copy and paste this and you’re ready to rock. Tweet. Whatever. You get what I mean.

And be sure to give your reason. (If you don’t enter a reason, your vote won’t count and we’ll be sad.)

Why: Help us Grow

We work hard to provide you with the best savings information around. Given the current tough financial environment, our new Gaucho friends have responded with some amazing messages of positive appreciation for what Gaucho is working to do.

We’re humbled and thankful for the great response. But as a crowdsourced endeavor, Gaucho is only as good as its members. We’re just a tiny startup and winning this award would help us to gain more media coverage and members, which means more deals — and more ways to save — for you.

So whaddaya say? Just one lil tweet? We’ll be your best friend forever. Promise.

About: The Shorties

This year marks the second annual Shorty Awards.

The Shorty Awards honor the best people and organizations on Twitter. These unique awards are for the Twitter community, by the Twitter community. Online voting is public and democratic, culminating in an awards ceremony that recognizes the winners in 27 official categories as well as those in brand new crowd-sourced ones.

Thanks!

We hope you take a second to vote. We really appreciate all the great support our Gauchos have given us.

(And yes, we really will be your bff.)

Here’s your gift guide to finding fun and interesting presents for the women in your life.

There’s been a lot of buzz around this new fragrance by Helena Rubinstein for Demi Moore, Wanted. Just take a peek at Demi Moore Twitter’s page and you’ll see how women are loving it for its woody scents with creamy floral facets. Wanted is a sophisticated scent that is so named because the fragrance makes the wearer feel wanted and lets them know they are wanted.

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There’s no justifiable reason why your wife or girlfriend should be lugging around a boring, so-so laptop bag. Do her a favour and get her a super fashionable bag for her laptop this Christmas – or help her protect it with a chic sleeve such as this one by Orla Kiely.

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Numbers don’t lie, and Susan Boyle’s new album has sold more than 1.8 million copies worldwide and continues to sit atop the Billboard charts. That must mean it’s good, right? If you think Susan Boyle may not be her style then consider albums such as Taylor Swift’s Fearless or Andrea Boticelli’s My Christmas; all are top seller albums for 2009.

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Here’s a gift she’ll definitely love. This discreet emergency case by Ms. and Mrs. comes with 24 portable solutions for beauty, fashion, and personal care emergencies. Even better is the fact that 10% of sales from these kits will be donated to breast cancer research.

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For women, watches are not simply a necessity – they’re also a fashion accessory, which means we can have more than one! A wide variety of styles vary from classic to glamourous to sporty so there’ll be something for her. This timelessly classic DKNY Stainless Steel Crystal Accented Bracelet retails at $115 at Macy’s.

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Who said girls don’t like tech stuff too? Your girl will definitely flip for this gift – The Flip Mino, a compact gadget for recording video. Perfect for gals who love to blog and take videos of just about anything! And they come in a great variety of styles. If you don’t see one you like just upload your own image!

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Shopping for the ladies can be quite tedious, but stick in there and you’ll surely find something. And remember to refer to our other articles for more great ideas for gifts for women, including chocolate gifts, keepsakes and books.

Also enter our Exclusive $100 Target Giftcard Giveaway – chances are you could find these gifts right at Target if you win the card!

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Wondering what you’ve got to do to get it? It’s pretty simple — with just a little effort you’ll be on your way to a shopping spree at Target! All the details are to be found on this Stamp, but let’s break it down for you:

First, Become A Gaucho

Joining Gaucho is simple, free — and as you can see, extremely rewarding! Make sure to fill out your complete profile. Do this, and you’ve already earned 5 Points and are on your way to winning the Target giftcard.

Show Your Participation

Now that you’re a Gaucho member, comment on this stamp to show you’re participating in the contest. Also don’t forget to follow Ninomaravilla so you can communicate with him directly, if need be.

Get To Gaucho-ing!

Gaucho is all about sharing and discussing great deals you’ve discovered. The more active you are on Gaucho, the more points you’ll earn, and the more likely you are to win this awesome giftcard.

Here’s how to rack up the GauchoPoints:

• Stamp a coupon or deal – 5 points
• Each time you comment, save or share a Stamp – 1 point
• Each comment left on your Stamp – 1 point
• Each time your Stamp is saved & shared – 1 point

So just what can you get with a $100 gifcard at Target? Hmm … we’ve got a few ideas that range from clothing to electronics … and who knows, if you’re thrifty enough you could probably shop for the entire family with $100! Here are just a few ideas we think you may find interesting:

Gifts for Gamers

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Price: $59.00

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Gifts To Look Good

Carlos Falchi for Target® Small Hobo

Price: $19.99

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Gifts To Smell Great

Men’s Acqua Di Gio by Giorgio Armani Collection

Price: $45.09

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Gifts For Growing Minds

LeapFrog Leapster2 – Green

Price: $59.99

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Gifts For The Whole Family

Wii Fit Plus Bundle with Balance Board for Nintendo Wii

Price: $99.99