How to Become a Guru on iCoolhunt

iCoolhunt is a social coolhunting game that can be played from the web or an iPhone app.  When you start, you're nothing more than a mere monkey of a Rookie.  Want to climb the ranks and become a true, trend spotting Guru?  Here's how.

First things first - you need to know the nuts and bolts of the game.

Take some time to learn the iCoolhunt ropes. Download the iPhone app if you have an iPhone, and install the bookmarklet on your web browsers. Poke around the website, and have a look at the Trenditory and Top Prey, get to know the Top Gurus, and have a look at the votes various things get. This will give you a better idea of what is actually cool and what's generally seen as lame.

If you are not yet comfortable catching Prey and subjecting it to the voting caprices of the greater community, have a bit of fun voting and commenting on things shared by other iCoolhunters.

You can easily peruse things by location, user, or category. One particularly fun way to rate and comment on iCoolhunt Prey is to drill down through the Trenditory until you get to a specific city. From there, you can explore the local landscape of cool, and get an interesting feel for popular and interesting in that particular area. See if you can spot any interesting trends - pattern recognition can be a fun game in and of itself!

Now you're ready to start sharing Prey with the iCoolhunt community.  Whenever you see something cool, snap a photo or catch online prey immediately with the iCoolhunt Bookmarklet.  When you catch Prey, make sure to correctly categorize it, and add a logical location.  Short descriptions are best; those that describe exactly what an object is are helpful if it is not exactly obvious from the photo.  

When selecting photos or taking your own, keep in mind that clear, sharp images with good lighting and cool colors do better.  Viewers should be able to comprehend the general concept of whatever you are sharing right away, and keep in mind that they will most likely see your Prey in thumbnail form initially, so whatever it is you are sharing should take up most of the frame.

The only way to climb the ranks with iCoolhunt is to continue to share Prey.  Maintain your involvement with the community; vote and comment, and make a habit of catching and sharing Prey of your own.

Also, try to share things in all iCoolhunt categories - you might be a technology expert, but catching Prey in the technology, fashion, design, and living categories will help you become a more well-rounded coolhunter and community member.

Happy hunting, and enjoy!