Loomia Unveils Application with WSJ.com, NBC Universal, and CNET Networks to Bring Top Social Networks to Media Sites

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Loomia (www.loomia.com) announced today the launch of SeenThis?, the first major Internet application that allows people to bring their existing social networks with them directly onto the pages of third party content sites across the Internet. SeenThis? enables audiences to automatically discover what’s most popular with their friends and groups from leading social networking sites – while a user is visiting a content site or social network. Loomia’s initial launch partners, The Wall Street Journal Online, NBC Universal, and CNET Networks (Nasdaq: CNET), are leading the trend toward convergence of social networks with the rest of the Internet.

With the debut of SeenThis?, a new patent-pending component of Loomia’s personalization platform, website publishers can bridge their sites with users’ social network relationships. Today, visitors of WSJ.com can opt-in to instantly see a selection of links to WSJ.com articles and blog posts that have been recently viewed or shared by their friends, groups and networks. Users will see, for example, that the content is popular with “8 friends,” “Harvard Business School,” or “Web 2.0 Entrepreneurs,” based on their particular social network affiliations. Users will also visit the application on their profile page within social networking sites to get an up-to-the-minute window of most-popular content within their networks from sites across the web.

Starting today, CNET Networks is deploying the application across three of its properties, BNET, ZDNet, and TechRepublic.

“Loomia’s SeenThis? instantly harnesses the power of our readers’ existing social network relationships,” said Stephen Howard-Sarin, Vice President of Products for CNET Networks’ business brands. “It will enable our visitors to discover the leading articles, blogs and whitepapers that are grabbing the attention of their trusted friends and groups, and are therefore socially-relevant. By super-charging word-of-mouth distribution of our content, our sites become even more ‘must-read’ destinations for business and technology professionals.”

NBC Universal is joining the SeenThis? launch by including popular NBC.com shows and videos in the SeenThis? application on a leading social network. Users will see links to videos that are hottest among their friends, such as clips from “The Office” and “Saturday Night Live.”

“Loomia’s SeenThis? opens up new ways for people to virally discover and engage with NBC.com shows and video,” said Stephen Andrade, Senior Vice President of Digital Development and General Manager at NBC.com. “People love to watch content based on word-of-mouth from friends, family and co-workers. Social communities are no longer silos. With this application, we connect the lines between our content, our audience and their social networks.”

SeenThis? is the newest offering from Loomia’s personalization platform, launched in 2006 to enable websites to enhance user engagement. SeenThis? adds the social component to complement Loomia’s other onsite personal recommendations, such as its “People Who Like This, Also Like” content and product suggestions, which are based on user activity and contextual information.

“We are excited to launch with three of the largest media companies in business, technology and entertainment,” said David Marks, Loomia CTO & Co-Founder. “Users will have a unique personal and social lens for discovering the most compelling content on sites across the web. Partners can easily leverage existing social relationships to drive new traffic from social networks and to deepen the onsite experience.”

Loomia’s SeenThis? is an opt-in-only application. Users have complete control of how much information they share, if any, and they can easily opt out at any time. User data is anonymized and aggregated as a whole; names and individual actions are not shared with anyone unless a user explicitly chooses to share media with his or her network. For a detailed description of Loomia’s privacy policy, please visit seenthis.loomia.com/privacy.

SeenThis? is available now for users at a leading social network and content partners. Users can sign up for the SeenThis? application at seenthis.loomia.com or at partner sites. Content providers interested in learning more about adding SeenThis? to their site can contact Loomia at www.loomia.com/contact. To see a press release from the Wall Street Journal about SeenThis?, please see seenthis.loomia.com/inthenews.

About Loomia

Loomia’s patent-pending technologies fuel discovery and deliver a highly personalized user experience on websites, based on three dimensions of relevance — contextual, personal and social. Built on Loomia’s personalization platform, the SeenThis? application bridges established social networking sites with media sites. Loomia’s personalization platform offers a suite of web-services that power over 40 media publishers and retail websites, including The Wall Street Journal, NBC Universal, CNET Networks, and Audible. Founded in 2004, Loomia is a privately held company based in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit http://seenthis.loomia.com.

About The Wall Street Journal Online

The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, published by Dow Jones & Company (www.dowjones.com), is the largest paid subscription news site on the Web with one million subscribers worldwide. Launched in 1996, WSJ.com attracts a rapidly growing audience of industry leaders and influentials. The award-winning site provides in-depth business news and financial information 24 hours a day, including breaking business and technology news and analysis from around the world. It draws on the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,900 business and financial news staff – the largest network of business and financial journalists in the world.

About CNET Networks

CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET) is an interactive media company that builds brands for people and the things they are passionate about, such as gaming, music, entertainment, technology, business, food, and parenting. The Company's leading brands include BNET, CHOW, CNET, GameSpot, and TV.com. Founded in 1992, CNET Networks has a strong presence in the US, Asia, and Europe.

About NBC Universal

NBC Universal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.