BlinkTag wins Zappos API Hackathon for Best Overall Application

The Zappos API Team announced a gifting-themed Hackathon contest. Developers were challenged to build anything using the Zappos API to compete for Best Overall Application, Most Fun and Weird Application, and Best Mash-up Application (integrating other APIs or apps). Entries were judged and voted on by Zappos Employees – including Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and the Customer Loyalty Team.

One winter weekend, BlinkTaggers Brendan Nee and Trucy Phan joined Storifier Conner Petzold, shunned social obligations, and spent their weekend hours hacking. The result? Ziftbot, a question-based gift guide built with Node.js. After answering a few questions, Ziftbot proposes unique gift ideas for friends or foes. For each gift, you can immediately purchase, share via email, or politely decline.

Ziftbot helps you find quirky gifts. We scoured the Zappos catalog for the strange and amazing, such as this camel shaped teapot:

We were thrilled to discover BlinkTag won Best Overall Application. Now… how will we split that $100? If only there were an app to help us find quirky things to buy on Zappos.