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An electronic catalog system provides an interface for users to author and post pieces of content, referred to as "blurbs," for viewing by other users. The blurbs submitted by a particular author are made available for viewing in an author-specific blog (web log) format. Blurbs may also be obtained

An electronic catalog system provides an interface for users to author and post pieces of content, referred to as "blurbs," for viewing by other users. The blurbs submitted by a particular author are made available for viewing in an author-specific blog (web log) format. Blurbs may also be obtained from external sources, such as from blogs hosted by various web sites. A personalized blurb selection component selects blurbs to present to users based on histories of catalog items selected by such users, and/or based on various other criteria. The blurbs selected for a particular user are presented within a personal log or "plog," which may be updated daily and will typically contain entries from many different authors. User feedback provided on specific blurbs is taken into consideration by the personalized blurb selection algorithms.

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What is claimed is: 1. An electronic catalog system, comprising: a computer data repository comprising a browsable electronic catalog of items; a computer data repository that stores user-specific item selection histories of catalog items selected from the electronic catalog by users; a blurb submi

What is claimed is: 1. An electronic catalog system, comprising: a computer data repository comprising a browsable electronic catalog of items; a computer data repository that stores user-specific item selection histories of catalog items selected from the electronic catalog by users; a blurb submission component that provides functionality for users of the electronic catalog to author and post blurbs for viewing by other users, including blurbs that include links corresponding to particular catalog items in the electronic catalog; a personalized blurb selection component that selects blurbs to present to specific users based at least in part on the item selection histories of such users; and a personalized blurb display component that displays the blurbs selected by the personalized blurb selection component to corresponding users in association with the electronic catalog; wherein the blurb submission component, the personalized blurb selection component and the personalized blurb display component comprise code executable by one or more processors. 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a voting component that provides an option for users to explicitly rate the blurbs they review by casting votes, wherein the personalized blurb selection component takes such votes into consideration in selecting blurbs to present to users. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the personalized blurb selection component evaluates whether a candidate blurb should be selected based at least in part on the votes cast by users in association with other blurbs submitted by the author of the candidate blurb. 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the personalized blurb selection component evaluates whether a candidate blurb should be presented to a target user based at least in part on a degree to which those who voted favorably on the candidate blurb have item selection histories that are similar to the item selection history of the target user. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the personalized blurb display component presents the blurbs selected by the personalized blurb selection component in a personal log format in which selected blurbs are generally displayed in a chronological order. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the blurb submission component provides a tool for blurb authors to insert user-selectable links within the blurbs to specific catalog items. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the personalized blurb selection component evaluates whether a given blurb should be presented to a target user based at least in part on whether the blurb includes a user-selectable link to a catalog item that appears in the item selection history of the target user. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the personalized blurb selection component evaluates whether a candidate blurb should be presented to a target user based at least in part on a degree of similarity between the item selection history of the target user and the item selection history of the candidate blurb's author. 9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a blog display component that displays the blurbs submitted by a given author in an author-specific blog. 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the item selection histories are or include histories of specific catalog items selected by users for viewing. 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the item selection histories are or include histories of specific catalog items selected by users for purchasing. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the item selection histories are or include histories of specific catalog items selected by users for submissions of reviews. 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the blurbs selected by the personalized blurb selection component additionally include blurbs obtained from at least one external source. 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the personalized blurb selection component uses a plurality of competing blurb selection algorithms to select blurbs to present to users. 15. In a system that provides online access to an electronic catalog of items, a method of enhancing browsing of the electronic catalog, comprising: maintaining user-specific item selection histories indicative of specific catalog items selected from the electronic catalog by specific users; receiving a plurality of blurbs, including blurbs submitted by each of multiple different users for viewing by other users, at least some of the blurbs including user-selectable links corresponding to particular catalog items in the electronic catalog; selecting specific blurbs of said plurality of blurbs to present to a target user based at least in part on an item selection history of the target user, to thereby identify a personalized set of selected blurbs; and presenting the personalized set of selected blurbs to the target user in association with the electronic catalog. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving a plurality of blurbs comprises receiving blurbs generated using a blurb authoring pipeline provided in association with the electronic catalog. 17. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving a plurality of blurbs comprises receiving blurbs from external sources via a plurality of RSS feeds. 18. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting specific blurbs to present to the target user comprises taking into consideration whether a candidate blurb includes a user-selectable link corresponding to an item in the target user's item selection history. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein selecting specific blurbs to present to the target user further comprises taking into consideration whether the candidate blurb includes a user-selectable link corresponding to an item that is similar to an item in the target user's item selection history. 20. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting specific blurbs to present to the target user comprises evaluating a blurb as a selection candidate at least in part by calculating a degree of similarity between the item selection history of the target user and an item selection history of an author of the blurb. 21. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting specific blurbs to present to the target user comprises evaluating a blurb as a selection candidate at least in part by evaluating an extent to which users having item selection histories similar to the item selection history of the target user have responded favorably to the blurb. 22. The method of claim 15, further comprising: providing an option for the target user to rate each of the selected blurbs; receiving from the target user a vote that indicates the target user's rating of a selected blurb; and taking said vote into consideration in evaluating whether the blurb should be selected for display to other users. 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising taking said vote into consideration in evaluating whether other blurbs authored by the author of the selected blurb should be selected to present to users. 24. The method of claim 15, wherein the personalized set of selected blurbs comprises blurbs that do not correspond to any items in the electronic catalog. 25. The method of claim 15, wherein the selected blurbs are presented to the target user as entries within in a personalized log. 26. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a blog display interface through which users can view author-specific logs of blurbs submitted by specific authors. 27. The system of claim 1, wherein the personalized blurb display component displays the selected blurbs on personalized gateway pages associated with the electronic catalog. 28. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the blurbs submitted via the blurb submission component and selected by the blurb selection component are not associated with any particular catalog item. 29. The method of claim 15, wherein at least some of the blurbs selected to present to the target user are not associated with any particular catalog item. 30. A computerized method of enhancing browsing of an electronic catalog of items, comprising: maintaining user-specific catalog item selection histories indicative of specific catalog items selected from the electronic catalog by specific users; receiving a plurality of blurbs, including blurbs submitted by each of multiple different users of the electronic catalog, said blurbs comprising textual content authored by said users and being distinct from said catalog items, wherein at least some of the blurbs include user-selectable links corresponding to particular catalog items in the electronic catalog; selecting specific blurbs of said plurality of blurbs to present to a target user based at least in part on the catalog item selection history of the target user, to thereby identify a personalized set of selected blurbs; and presenting the personalized set of selected blurbs to the target user in a personalized log of the target user. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the user-selectable links point to corresponding item detail pages in the electronic catalog, such that a user can navigate from a blurb to the item detail page of a catalog item referenced in said blurb. 32. The method of claim 30, wherein selecting specific blurbs to present to the target user further comprises taking into consideration whether the candidate blurb includes a user-selectable link to a catalog item that is related to a catalog item in the target user's catalog item selection history. 33. The method of claim 30, wherein the personalized log includes functionality for the target user to rate the presented blurbs, and the method further comprises receiving ratings from the target user of particular blurbs presented in the personalized log, and taking said ratings into consideration in selecting at least one additional blurb to add to the personalized log of the target user. 34. The method of claim 30, wherein at least some of the blurbs selected to present to the target user are not associated with any particular catalog item in the electronic catalog. 35. The method of claim 30, wherein presenting the personalized set of selected blurbs to the target user comprises presenting the selected blurbs in the personalized log in a chronological order. 36. The method of claim 30, further comprising additionally presenting the received blurbs to users in an author-specific blog format in which users can view author-specific logs of blurbs submitted by specific authors. 37. The method of claim 30, wherein selecting specific blurbs to present to the target user comprises evaluating a blurb as a selection candidate at least in part by calculating a degree of similarity between the catalog item selection history of the target user and a catalog item selection history of an author of the blurb. 38. The method of claim 30, wherein receiving the plurality of blurbs comprises receiving blurbs submitted by users via a blurb submission form of a web site that hosts the electronic catalog of items, and the method comprises presenting the personalized set of selected blurbs to the target user on a web page of said web site. 39. The method of claim 30, wherein the electronic catalog of items includes item detail pages, and the method comprises presenting the personalized set of selected blurbs to the target user on a web page other than an item detail page. 40. The electronic catalog system of claim 1, wherein the blurb submission component and the personalized blurb display component are provided on a common web site that hosts the electronic catalog. 41. The electronic catalog system of claim 1, wherein the electronic catalog of items includes item detail pages, and the personalized blurb display component displays the selected blurbs on pages other than said item detail pages. 42. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving the plurality of blurbs comprises receiving blurbs submitted by users via a blurb submission form of a web site that hosts the electronic catalog, and the method comprises presenting the personalized set of selected blurbs on a web page of said web site. 43. The method of claim 15, wherein the electronic catalog of items includes item detail pages, and presenting the personalized set of selected blurbs to the target user in association with the electronic catalog comprises presenting the personalized set of selected blurbs on a web page other than an item detail page.