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itLinkz's 'Linkup' Signals the Future of Social Networking For Professionals, Hobbyists, and Enthusiasts

Posted on: Wednesday, 31 January 2007, 12:00 CST

itLinkz, a wholly owned subsidiary of Medical Technology & Innovations, today inaugurates the next generation of social networking with the launch of its exclusive social networking platform. From this proprietary platform, itLinkz is launching a wide variety of social networking Web sites, each targeting a specific profession, hobby, or special interest category. The goal of the company is to make it possible for people with common interests to build energizing and engaging online communities around these interests. itLinkz plans to launch 500 demographically-focused sites, each featuring the name "Linkup" as a common identity, over the next several years.

The first Linkup Web site will be NURSELINKUP.COM, which will be unveiled tonight at the Lancaster Arts Hotel in Lancaster, Pa. Six more Linkup sites and several new networking features are planned for launch over the next 24 months.

"You might describe our approach as the 'MySpace' for professionals, hobbyists, or other groups with common interests," says Jeremy Feakins, distinguished entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and founding CEO of itLinkz in Lancaster, Pa. "Virtually all existing social networking services are for meeting friends and having fun online. However, most social networking sites do not have a specific demographic or targeted focus. We're taking a completely different approach by offering Web sites uniquely designed for each and every different hobby, profession, or interest group. With the tools and resources Linkup Web sites bring to the social networking party, members will be able to network and interact around a common interest. As a result, advertisers will now be able to reach audiences with extreme precision, whether they're targeting nurses, or golfers, or fishermen, or whatever market they need. We're taking the power of Web 2.0 to another level to benefit professionals, enthusiasts, and advertisers worldwide. Altogether we've registered an astounding 3,000 Web site names all with our 'Linkup' name in them."

Indeed, itLinkz's innovative Linkup platform exceeds the services available on many other social networks, because it integrates virtually all crucial Web 2.0 technologies--including community building, interactive networking, content generation, blogging, tagging, photo and video sharing, chats, instant messaging, and more--into individual sites that attract people of a specific interest or profession.

Each of the planned 500 itLinkz Linkup sites will help professionals and enthusiasts meet and network with like-minded peers, while giving marketers unprecedented ability to reach highly desirable, tightly focused market niches with their online advertisements. Also, all Linkup sites feature predominantly user-generated content, and will be supported by specialists in each targeted area. For example, the Nurse Linkup community will be moderated and assisted by professional nurses. Nurse Linkup will give nurses everything they need to connect and network online, while opening a door to advertisers who want to reach the most passionate nursing professionals.

Jeremy Feakins will formally launch itLinkz and its proprietary Linkup platform tonight at 7:30 sharp at the Lancaster Arts Hotel in Lancaster, Pa. Renowned Web 2.0 blogger and technology guru Amy B. Wohl will discuss the latest Web 2.0, social networking, and 'long tail' marketing trends, and why advertisers want access to more tightly focused market niches. Luc Miron, Director of Strategic Technology Initiatives at the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, will discuss the importance of high technology companies like itLinkz in the community. Reporters can participate in a live demo of the Linkup platform; interview Feakins, Wohl, and Miron; and take exclusive photos at the event.

Here's how itLinkz's Linkup Web sites benefit members:

* Create an online personality. Linkup members start by creating a MyLinkup account, where they build a personal profile describing location, specialties, interests, and more.

* Meet friends. Members can invite and receive friends, and search for members based on similar profile information to discover new relationships within their community.

* Chat now, or chat later. Members can communicate with one another in real-time chat, or though messaging when another member is offline.

* Blog your specialties online. Members can create a blog to write about their specialty, comment on news and events, share professional knowledge, post photos, and more.

* Discover what's new. itLinkz's RSS feed posts industry news articles on each Linkup site. Members can rate, tag, and comment on stories.

* Be heard. Members can post opinions, questions, and advice in community-wide discussion forums.

* Learn from other experts. itLinkz posts timely, expert-authored articles covering a wide range of topics to help members grow their career or learn more about their unique area of interest. Members can comment on and rate articles.

"Web 2.0 is all about enabling users to interact with one another, adding their own unique content to Web sites," says Amy B. Wohl, Editor of Amy Wohl's Opinions and President of Wohl Associates. "These interactions are most interesting and useful when individuals with common interests can form communities to share information, expertise, experiences, and passion, for both business and personal interests. And when these things are vertically-oriented, advertisers can better improve their focus, and market more effectively."

ABOUT ITLINKZ

itLinkz is the first social networking service giving individuals the ability to interact and network around a common interest, while providing advertisers access to the precise demographics they want to reach. itLinkz is building a worldwide community of 500 Linkup Web sites, each centered around one interest. The company's first community site is Nurse Linkup. itLinkz is a wholly owned subsidiary of Medical Technology & Innovations (MTIV).

Source: Business Wire

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