Core news facts:
• MarCom Professional, http://www.marcomprofessional.com, launched at 9am (GMT) on Tuesday 25 September, 2007
• First 'social professional' network dedicated to the marketing communications sector
• All marketing communications disciplines covered by specialised content, plus vertical categories such as FMCG, youth, education & learning
• Membership is free and all members are verified as working in marketing communications, thereby ensuring high quality, targeted content and informed discussion
• Members can easily import existing blogs, post, share, collaborate using bliki functionality, edit with full version control and comment in a secure, professionally hosted environment
• Development and functionality will be driven by member requirements and community demand.
Main news release:
Launched on Tuesday 25 September, ‘MarCom Professional’
Different from pure ‘social’ networking sites which feature generic content and are used mainly for virtual socialising, MarCom Professional utilises bliki-based social networking for the first time. Combining the reverse chronological ordering of blogs, with the collaborative editing capabilities of a wiki, members are able to view full version and version comparisons, making it the ideal platform for collaboration with peers. A second innovation enables members to have an alter ego, particularly useful for adding polemic or commentary that may be at odds with the position of a member's employer, but worthy of discussion and debate.
Agencies could choose to use MarCom Professional as the agency intranet, a cost effective way to communicate and collaborate with colleagues in a closed, securely hosted community. Others may choose to subscribe to the RSS feeds to stay abreast with industry developments, or to recommend venues and restaurants most suited to media events. An open community could be established to focus on Web 2.0 and its increasing impact on all areas of marketing communications. The possibilities for MarCom Professional are numerous, with future development and innovation driven by the members and communities who use and benefit from the first social professional networking platform.
Andrew Betts, Director of Social Professional Limited, the company behind MarCom Professional, says: "People are familiar with social networks, but until now they have not focused on a specific profession. MarCom Professional is designed entirely for the marketing communications profession from the ground up, and presents the opportunity to make marketing communicators the pioneers in adopting such a network to inform, learn and entertain." He continues: "It's particularly relevant to marcom consultancies and agencies as we believe prospective customers will come to the site to learn and source appropriate skills and knowledge."
Social Professional Limited is a privately owned company established to develop the world's best social professional networking platform. The technical team prides itself on delivering powerful Web applications that are simple to use and have won numerous accolades, including the Editor & Publisher's award for 'Best Media-Affiliated Business Blog, 2007', the Guardian newspaper's list of 'Top 10 Dotcoms' and the 'Top 25, Web 2.0' on The Register.
Definitions:
- Social professional network is defined as a specific type of social network pivoting around the members' career; marketing communications in this instance.
- A bliki is the combination of two Internet concepts, a blog and wiki. It combines features from both in an easy-to-use way. http://en.wikipedia.org/
Links:
http://www.marcomprofessional.com
http://www.socialprofessional.com
Logo:
http://vip.marcomprofessional.com/
Contacts:
Cass Stainton, MarCom Professional member and PR contact
Email: c.staintonpr@
Phone: 00 +44 (0)207 380 1000 / 00 +44 (0)7798 554520
