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Hearst-Owned eSPIN.com to Promote Flirt Application Across
Multiple Magazine Brands and Platforms
* * *
NEW YORK, February 13, 2008 - To commemorate this year's Valentine's Day, Hearst's eSPIN.com, the premier PG-13 social networking site, has forged a first-time partnership with Bebo, the global Social Media Network, to launch its wildly popular 'spin the bottle' application within Bebo's open environment. With this partnership, eSPIN.com becomes the first Hearst Digital brand to launch a portable version of any of their brands in the social environment.
This application delivers eSPIN.com's on-site experience of virtual flirting which draws over 1.5MM uniques per month to Bebo's global network of 40 million users. It also provides a unique opportunity for the Hearst Teen Digital Network; by combining the editorial voices of Seventeen.com, CosmoGIRL.com, eCRUSH.com and eSPIN.com, to promote this application on Bebo. In doing so, Hearst is leveraging the reach and collective power of these highly influential teen brands to guide a targeted demographic of users to a single online destination.
Several of the key points about this application partnership include:
- The application is available at http://www.bebo.com/app/spin-the-bottle
- Spinning the bottle will let the user see multiple profiles of other users in their age range who have added the application.
- The application will follow the same safety controls maintained by eSPIN.com, meaning that teens can only connect with other teens, and connectivity is limited to the virtual kind (instead of exchanging personally identifiable information, users exchange flash animations, like "Hug it out" and "Hock a loogie").
- eSPIN.com and Bebo.com will jointly promote the application on their respective sites.
- The Hearst Teen Digital Network will promote the application across its entire cache of sites (Seventeen.com, CosmoGIRL.com, eSPIN.com and eCRUSH.com).
- The application was developed by application development firm Context Optional.
"This is not your parents' 'spin the bottle'. Teens are looking for new ways to communicate, and on eSPIN.com we use the universally loved spin the bottle game to make a 'virtual reality' social networking experience where teens can communicate in a meaningful way with millions of other teens. Our partnership with Bebo furthers the potential of connecting our audience with the highest global concentration of 16-24 year olds of all the social networking sites," said eSPIN President, Amy Gibby.
"eSPIN is a fun way for Bebo's 40 million users worldwide to meet, interact, and express themselves," said Bebo CEO and co-founder Michael Birch. "The Hearst Teen Digital Network represents some of the best in teen-oriented destinations and they have a great understanding of how individuals interact online - we're excited that they've chosen to launch one of their premiere brands in a social environment for the first time on Bebo."
ESPIN PARTNERS WITH BEBO TO LAUNCH SPIN THE BOTTLE APPLICATION FOR VALENTINE'S DAY 2008
February 13, 2008
* * *Hearst-Owned eSPIN.com to Promote Flirt Application Across
Multiple Magazine Brands and Platforms
* * *
NEW YORK, February 13, 2008 - To commemorate this year's Valentine's Day, Hearst's eSPIN.com, the premier PG-13 social networking site, has forged a first-time partnership with Bebo, the global Social Media Network, to launch its wildly popular 'spin the bottle' application within Bebo's open environment. With this partnership, eSPIN.com becomes the first Hearst Digital brand to launch a portable version of any of their brands in the social environment.
This application delivers eSPIN.com's on-site experience of virtual flirting which draws over 1.5MM uniques per month to Bebo's global network of 40 million users. It also provides a unique opportunity for the Hearst Teen Digital Network; by combining the editorial voices of Seventeen.com, CosmoGIRL.com, eCRUSH.com and eSPIN.com, to promote this application on Bebo. In doing so, Hearst is leveraging the reach and collective power of these highly influential teen brands to guide a targeted demographic of users to a single online destination.
Several of the key points about this application partnership include:
- The application is available at http://www.bebo.com/app/spin-the-bottle
- Spinning the bottle will let the user see multiple profiles of other users in their age range who have added the application.
- The application will follow the same safety controls maintained by eSPIN.com, meaning that teens can only connect with other teens, and connectivity is limited to the virtual kind (instead of exchanging personally identifiable information, users exchange flash animations, like "Hug it out" and "Hock a loogie").
- eSPIN.com and Bebo.com will jointly promote the application on their respective sites.
- The Hearst Teen Digital Network will promote the application across its entire cache of sites (Seventeen.com, CosmoGIRL.com, eSPIN.com and eCRUSH.com).
- The application was developed by application development firm Context Optional.
"This is not your parents' 'spin the bottle'. Teens are looking for new ways to communicate, and on eSPIN.com we use the universally loved spin the bottle game to make a 'virtual reality' social networking experience where teens can communicate in a meaningful way with millions of other teens. Our partnership with Bebo furthers the potential of connecting our audience with the highest global concentration of 16-24 year olds of all the social networking sites," said eSPIN President, Amy Gibby.
"eSPIN is a fun way for Bebo's 40 million users worldwide to meet, interact, and express themselves," said Bebo CEO and co-founder Michael Birch. "The Hearst Teen Digital Network represents some of the best in teen-oriented destinations and they have a great understanding of how individuals interact online - we're excited that they've chosen to launch one of their premiere brands in a social environment for the first time on Bebo."
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