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ZeroDegrees Debuts Premiere Privacy-Driven Social Networking System for Business

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 December 2003, 06:00 CST

SANTA MONICA, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 12/10/2003 -- ZeroDegrees Inc. (ZDI), the “People Network Company,” has announced its company launch with the final beta of its ZeroDegrees social networking technology that enables people to connect in a way that closely emulates natural social behavior. Its final beta is now available for free download at www.zerodegrees.com. In the 16 weeks since its soft launch and original beta, the network has grown to 140,000 searchable contacts.

ZDI simplifies and accelerates the real-life process of connecting people with the contacts of their friends and colleagues using modern technology and old-fashioned discretion. Recognizing that the lion’s share of new business development in industries such as law, automotive, accounting, software, medical and marketing services are done by personal referral rather than cold call -- in some cases by a factor of ten to one -- ZDI’s “People Search Engine” enables business professionals to find a path to new clients through trusted intermediaries who know both the client and the business professional. In addition, sales and business development professionals can search for a path and request introductions to known executive decision makers in the Global 2000 using the same process of leveraging trusted relationships.

The ZeroDegrees system is available as an online service for individual subscribers as well as enterprise customers on a per-seat basis. The service is 100 percent opt-in at every level and lets each subscriber decide what is published about them, who can see their information, whom they are linked to, who can search across their network, and who can contact them for an introduction.

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http://zerodegrees.com

Unlike some competing systems that are controlled by a supervisor or at the enterprise level, ZDI has put the user in complete control of his or her network development activities, regardless of the size of their network. A user can choose to include any subset of their network -- or simply their own contact information -- and share it only with their closest friends and associates for mutual exploration of common interests. In all cases, the user is in the driver’s seat and is involved in every referral via an automated &8221; option on the requests for introduction.

How Social Networking With ZeroDegrees Works

ZeroDegrees consists of an easy-to-install Outlook plug-in, which allows the subscriber to select the contacts they want to share with their trusted friends and colleagues. Once subscribers have set up a network, they can explicitly allow other ZeroDegrees subscribers to connect with, search across and request referrals to individuals in their respective networks. In addition to Outlook, ZeroDegrees also provides integration with Lotus Notes, ACT, Goldmine and other industry-standard enterprise CRM/SFA systems.

ZeroDegrees also provides subscribers with the ability to participate in the service, but still remain unknown or confidential to other subscribers who are connected to them. In addition, no email content is ever accessed or stored, differentiating it from other enterprise-level social networking systems. ZeroDegrees’ privacy policy is such that user data will never be mined or used for commercial purposes without the user’s explicit permission.

“ZeroDegrees allows people to share contacts and relationships in a secure environment,” notes Jas Dhillon, President and CEO of ZeroDegrees. “Users only give up information from their address books that they want to give out -- it’s completely secure and more natural than any other existing system in the way that people communicate and network in real-life.”

Joining Dhillon on the founding management team at ZeroDegrees are several long-standing pioneers in the community and telecom fields, including Mark Jeffrey, founder of the pioneering online community, The Palace. The Company is privately backed and is currently in discussions with both strategic and venture capital backers.

“We believe that the individual -- not the enterprise -- is the ‘atomic unit’ of social networks,” said Mark Jeffrey, VP of Product Development for ZeroDegrees. “Therefore, unlike other products, we give the individual complete control over their network of relationships.”

About ZeroDegrees

ZeroDegrees’ mission is to develop and market advanced technology that brings people closer in ways that emulate natural social behavior. ZDI provides individuals and enterprises the tools to capitalize on the social networks that pervade all aspects of life in order to achieve personal and organizational objectives with ever-increasing speed and ease, respecting all rights of privacy.

ZeroDegrees’ software technology enables individuals and enterprises to harness the power of social networks for revenue acceleration and productivity enhancement. ZeroDegrees’ patent pending XML Web services Engine and Microsoft Outlook Plug-In seamlessly deliver social network functionality to existing CRM, SFA, and ERP software applications.

For more information, please visit www.zerodegrees.com.

Contact: Rita Tennyson TERPIN COMMUNICATIONS (310) 821-6100 x104 rita@terpin.com

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