 |
|
||||
The Evite Network of 66 Million Email Addresses Already Includes More Than 1.5 Million Posted Recommendations of Local Establishments
Los Angeles - October 14, 2004 - Evite, the free social planning site, announced today that it has enhanced its services of online invitations and local event listings to include recommendation features for bars and restaurants powered by social networking. Leveraging its database of past events, Evite is the first to offer a pre-created online social network of 66 million email addresses, called the Evite Network. The site already features more than 1.5 million recommendations from Evite users and one million editorial reviews of bars and restaurants from Citysearch, an InterActiveCorp sister property. Additionally, Evite rolled out a completely new product design that reflects the revamped organization of the service and enhances the user experience.
Evite's new features empower users to make more informed decisions based on recommendations from friends and colleagues about where to go and what to do.
Evite has been facilitating social networking for six years and in that time our users have organically built up the biggest online network of friends. Now that we have the technology in place to deliver added utility, we are confident that Evite can improve users' lives by making it easier to share recommendations in a way that no other site has done before, said John Foley, president of Evite. In this way, Evite is also launching a powerful complement to Citysearch's leading local city guide.
Evite's bar and restaurant guide is powered by the Evite Network, which generates recommendations for local establishments based on the information featured in user profiles, ratings and reviews, and then matching it to personal networks. Each user has their own personal network made up of friends and colleagues who have either invited them to an event or with whom they have attended an event. Based on a user's personal network, users are then given access to read recommendations and reviews about local places posted by their friends. Recommendations for places can also be based on overall popularity within a specific city.
The Evite Network offers privacy to its users because it is a closed network, which means it only allows a person to view information within his or her own network. An individual's network within the Evite Network is made up of friends who have either invited each other to an event or who have attended an event together, therefore people are only added to a network by attending the same event. Privacy concerns have also been addressed with regard to profiles. If a person chooses to fill out a profile, their full name or email address will not be revealed to other users. In addition, for each event to which a person is invited, that person can choose to hide or publish their profile. The message center provides privacy to users through a system of double blind emails, which means if a user wants to send messages to another user within Evite, neither the sender nor the recipient's email addresses are revealed.
The new sections at www.evite.com include:
Home - The homepage for registered users features a new look to its one week view calendar that displays upcoming events and birthdays (powered by the Evite Network). Users can also manage details about their profiles, check emails in the Message Center, and access other general information about their accounts.
Plan an Event - Evite continues to provide its signature tools (for private or public events) to create personalized invitations and manage guest responses (RSVPs). A new feature on the Create an Event page is a search box for the selection of a venue which provides a review, recommendations and location information that can be automatically inserted into the Evite invitation.
Places to Go - Review recommended restaurants and clubs from within a user's personal network (powered by the Evite Network). Users can browse through Network Picks, which consists of favorite places within their social circle, or read up on reviews posted by friends in the Network Reviews area. Users can also check out the most popular places to celebrate birthdays, happy hours, and nights out on the town based on real events planned in their area.
Things To Do - Browse events through an easy to use Local Events Directory. In addition to displaying user-supplied events, which are featured in the Local Event Buzz section, Evite features various local event listings from Ticketmaster, Ticketweb, Museumtix, and Active.com.
People to See - The Evite Network features a list of all the people who have attended parties together (in addition to their profile). Users can view their circle of friends and never again forget anyone on the guest list. Evite profiles are a great way to share your favorite hang outs, drinks, music and more with your friends.
About Evite
Evite is the free social planning site featuring invitations, social networking, local information and event listing. From planning a dinner party for friends to finding something to do on Saturday night, Evite makes it easy to explore local areas, communicate, coordinate, and make decisions. Launched in 1998, Evite is an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) Local and Media Services.
Media Contacts:
Kristen Wareham
Evite/Citysearch
(213) 739-3275
(818) 802-8124 cell
Kristen@evite.com
Doug Schneider/Natalie Svider
Ruder Finn
(310) 479-9929
(818) 802-8124 cell
schneiderd@ruderfinn.com
svidern@ruderfinn.com
