Swipely

A big problem with online reviews is that you can't always trust the opinions of strangers, especially after they were all so mean about your sweater on HotOrNot. Helping ensure you get buying advice from people you trust, Swipely, now in public beta

Just launched by a former Netscape/Microsoft vet eager to add some credibility to online recommendations, Swipely's a Providence-based startup that lets you "turn purchases into conversations" by posting FB/Twitter-like updates about anything/everything you drop coin on (restaurants, movies, kicks, etc), allowing you to learn about cool new schwag, save money, and get trusted advice from friends, without having to bring Chaz to the Natick Collection, or really any mall with a Hollister. Here's how it works: after creating your profile, securely enroll any/all of your credit/debit cards and import your recent "swipes" (purchases) into the system; then choose which ones you want to share (similar to accepting/denying FB invites) and add strongly worded comments, elaborate Amazon-like recommendations, product ratings, or pics before posting (without dollar amounts) to your Swipely wall and FB/Twitter pages -- so you should probably start paying cash for those Trojan-minis. Once your profile is set, you're free to move about the cabin and friend people, import email receipts from online stores (although Gmail accounts download automatically), make fun of the Kia your friend bought, post your swipes on a map, add that Kia your friend bought to your "wishlist", and even find cheap gas at over 120,000 spots nationwide, though it's much faster if you just go to Anna's

As if that's all, Swipely's about to roll out a social gaming/Foursquare component that not only lets you win badges/get on the VIP list for places you shop, but also start to earn loyalty/reward points, which Chaz certainly didn't earn when he rated you a "4"... why are you even driving that jerk to the Collection anyway?