January 17, 2007 08:08 AM Eastern Time 

Business Wire Introduces Social Bookmarking Links Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit – Allowing Users to Recommend Content

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Business Wire has introduced new bookmarking links to increasingly popular social bookmarking websites such as Digg, Del.icio.us, and Reddit. These bookmarking websites allow internet users to save their favorite web content and share it with other users.

The integration of bookmarking features across the entire Business Wire website comes as part of the company’s overall social media strategy. Following the successful introduction of Business Wire’s EON (Enhanced Online News) web-delivery platform -- which has already enabled since its launch in 2006 such social media features as bookmarking, tags for blog search engine Technorati, and tracking of blog entries that refer to press releases -- Business Wire has decided to implement social media features throughout its web properties.

“Enhancing our entire website with social media features is a key component of our ongoing mission to provide news that is linkable, searchable, accessible, and useable by whomever wants it, whichever way they want it,” says Michael Lissauer, EVP of Marketing and Business Strategy at Business Wire. “Whether you’re a journalist, blogger, investor, or end-consumer, we will make it easier for you to receive and use Business Wire content.”

In addition to enjoying potential increased exposure of their press releases on such social media sites, also termed Web 2.0, Business Wire clients now receive new measurement metrics about social bookmarks on their NewsTrak reports.

Summary of the new features:

Social Bookmarks: At the bottom of every Business Wire press release page there is a series of icons and links of popular bookmarking sites. By clicking on those icons, users are able to easily save those articles and share them with other users:

• By clicking on the Digg or Reddit icons, a new window will open where users will be prompted to login, submit the story, and provide a short description of the content they are submitting. Once the story is submitted, other users of these bookmarking services will be able to read the story and vote for it, thus potentially increasing its ranking. The more votes a story receives, the more visible it will become on the bookmarking websites. Popular stories are featured on the bookmarking websites’ home pages and carried on their RSS feeds.
• By clicking on the Del.icio.us icon, a new window will open prompting users to save the link on their online favorites page (similar to “My favorites” or “Bookmarks” in a web browser). Users are then able to share their favorites with friends and family, colleagues, and other users. Popular links are featured on the Del.icio.us home page and are offered via RSS subscriptions.

Measurement: when accessing the NewsTrak feature, clients can monitor the performance of their releases on social media sites, including break-down by service and number of hits.

To learn more about bookmarking services, social media, web 2.0, and Business Wire’s related offerings see attached PDF: what is web 2.0?

About Business Wire

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is utilized by thousands of member companies and organizations to transmit their full-text news releases, regulatory filings, photos and other multimedia content to journalists, news media, trade publications, institutional and individual investors, financial information services, regulatory authorities, Internet portals, information web sites, business-to-business decision-makers and consumers worldwide. With a news distribution network spanning 150 countries and 45 languages, Business Wire's multi-channel delivery network, has access to some 60 international and national news agency networks throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The Business Wire news network is powered by its patented NX high-speed data platform and supports XML, XHTML and XBRL code to deliver the most sophisticated news file to enhance news release interactivity, customization and search engine optimization. Business Wire has 30 bureaus in cities including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Brussels, Tokyo and Sydney with reciprocal offices throughout the world. Business Wire was founded in 1961 by Chairman Lorry I. Lokey, veteran journalist and public relations executive. Cathy Baron Tamraz is president and CEO.