Web Crossing Launches WebCrossing Neighbors, a Private-Label Social Network Platform with Ajax Webmail

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Friday, June 23, 2006; 03:40 AM

Web Crossing, Inc. announced the immediate availability of WebCrossing Neighbors, its new private-label online social network solution.

Now, businesses and organizations can create, under their total control, customized, branded online social networks where members can link their personal spaces with friends and colleagues. WebCrossing Neighbors is a hosted solution complete with common areas for interest groups, personal user spaces, profiles, blogs, discussions, photo and file sharing, access controls, search and much more. WebCrossing Neighbors is available immediately as a server hosted solution, starting at $195/month.

"We're extremely thrilled to use the WebCrossing Neighbors platform for our newly introduced automotive lifestyle social networking site CarSpace," said Sylvia Marino, senior director of CarSpace. "This platform allows our members to have a clean user interface and tools that are easy to use to bring automotive fans together."

"Web Crossing products have had a rich history of online community and collaboration that's customizable, extensible and scalable," said Tim Lundeen, president and CEO of Web Crossing, Inc. "As one might expect, WebCrossing Neighbors can be functionally and aesthetically customized to meet any company or organization's goals. WebCrossing Neighbors empowers businesses and groups to build relationships with, and between, customers, audience, student body or constituency. Companies wishing to create a community, bring members of an existing community closer together, build greater brand loyalty or increase collaboration should consider Neighbors."

Linking Brings People Together

Personal spaces link friends and colleagues together using the WebCrossing Neighbors dynamic tagging engine, with support for "degrees of friendship" that display friends-of-friends and third-degree friends. Access to other spaces is quick using links from the new activity list, the friend gallery or the interest group gallery. Each personal space includes an up-to-date list of new content in subscribed friends' journal space or discussions. Each personal space also provides two avatar galleries for quick links to friends or colleagues or to interest groups.

Members on a WebCrossing Neighbors site can create shared interest groups to participate in discussions, either via the web-based forum or email subscriptions. Companies and organizations can also offer "premium membership" benefits, providing options, such as extra photo albums, more file storage, and more. Demographic and statistical information metrics help companies measure success and growth.

Businesses Control Building Brand

To help businesses and organizations build a bridge with customers and constituents, WebCrossing Neighbors is based on the WebCrossing Core engine to provide social networking functionality that is scalable, extensible and easily customized. System-wide search is fully indexed and lightning fast. WebCrossing Neighbors administrators control access permission rules for interest group and individual spaces. Administrators can also give members access control over their own personal space. System-wide announcements provide members with hot news or other updates from the online community director who represents the company or organization.

Each WebCrossing Neighbors site is customized both aesthetically and functionally. The design of the graphics can reinforce company branding, organization identity or establish its own aesthetic. If the default features comprise the desired set, WebCrossing Neighbors can be used out-of-the-box in minutes. Functional modules are administered through an easy-to-access control panel with switches. The underlying scripts and templates that control WebCrossing Neighbors operations can also be modified and extended.

Functional elements provide varying levels of interactivity. Available functional elements include: classic forum discussions; journal or blog capabilities with integrated comments; photo albums; personal files for sharing data or storing backups of files; footprints showing recently accessing members; instant messaging and chat rooms; and email services for POP3, SMTP and AJAX-based webmail.

Pricing, Compatibility and Availability

WebCrossing Neighbors is available immediately as a server hosted package for maximum uptime, priced based on traffic and member storage capacity starting at $195/month.