The last release of 2007 was a special release… It was officially known as R103 (*we will improve the names of all future releases*). It was a short release cycle, but it was important.

First and foremost, our engineering team is world class. I appreciate each and every one for their hard work and dedication to building an amazing product.

Over the last few releases and going into 2008 we are continuing to focus on product improvements specifically a better user experience, better collections, better fraud detection, less time in post-funding verification, better customer service, and better overall site performance.

Here is a link to the release announcement.

There will be consolidated tax forms this year. That means you’ll get one form summarizing all your loans instead of one form for each loan. Who wants to do any more work for taxes then you have to?

The webservice API added a new object: Marketplace. This object makes it easy to grab summary data. As an example, it is now possible to build a featured listings rotator (hint hint!). Have you done something cool with the API? Let us know so that we can feature it on the blog.

There were a number of platform performance changes that no one will notice — they were done correctly. The most noticeable change for website users will be the speed of the Marketplace Performance Page.

Lenders now have a more detailed breakdown on the lender page for several key stats. The numbers are more thorough, which is good.

Borrower’s now have payoff guidance, increasing awareness of the effects of both early and late payments.

Also, we simplified the borrower referral by making it a $35 flat fee; making it easier to understand.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. And here’s to hoping that 2008 is the year of P2P lending for everyone.

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John Witchel is the CTO and Co-founder of Prosper.