Punch

UK Social Network YouMeO Makes Giant Evolutionary Leap With Multiple Profile Aggregation & Trust-Based Social Search

UK based social network YouMeO, which caters for almost half a million young people in the UK and around the world, has shifted gears in its evolution from previous incarnation PPLparty, launching several industry firsts that are set to turn on the mass consumer social networking market to activities previously only undertaken by the most web and technology-savvy users.

YouMeO users will be able to manage multiple social network profiles (including Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Lastfm and YouTube amongst others) within a single location, also allowing users to integrate their existing actions - such as to Digg a news story - into YouMeO.

The site will offer a social search function, enabling users to interrogate their various profiles and also that of their friends/contacts along with other users across the site, in order to be provided with a list of relevant results which are based upon a new ‘peer-trust' system, called ‘Likeables'. Users rate their friends' content, enabling the YouMeO search function to deliver the most relevant search results.

Each element of new functionality is being launched on YouMeO - which is named to describe ‘You and Me Online' - on September 8th 2008.

YouMeO has been developed out of the highly successful PPLparty, which was founded by teen entrepreneur Calum Brannan when he was 15 in 2005. In 2007 Calum Brannan became an UK internet cause celebre, with many commentators identifying the tech-entrepreneur as ‘one to watch' and Brannan being appointed as a "Make Your Mark" Ambassador for a national campaign to encourage entrepreneurship. The YouMeO team now includes Richard Boot as non-Exec Chairman.

The YouMeO brand which was unveiled earlier this year, launched with an innovative partnership with Blyk, the free mobile phone network for 16 - 24 year olds. Numerous other commercial partnerships are in the pipeline.

Calum Brannan, founder of YouMeO, commented:
"We are developing YouMeO as an innovative blend of social networking and trust-based search to capitalise on the huge consumer passion that exists for consumer generated content and interactivity with one's peers online. As the market continues to grow, no one has yet succeeded in bringing all the content together and making it available in a way that appeals to the mass-market consumer.

"Having developed PPLparty, we have an extremely strong understanding of the mechanics and dynamics of social networking - but rather than this being the end in itself, we see social networking as just the beginning. Many content aggregation services simply ‘pull' content from source, whereas we're keen to ‘pull', ‘push' and encourage users to add friends throughout the experience. Our goals are to be consumer's destination brand of choice for the ever-growing social networking community."

For more information, visit www.youmeo.com