Webjam, a provider of engaging software for enterprise social media, today announced its top 100 position in this year’s Tech Media Invest Top 100 list, in association with The Guardian, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Kemp Little.

The Tech Media Invest Top 100 (TMI) is a list of today’s hottest and most innovative emerging companies in the ever converging tech and media industries.  The TMI Advisory Board deployed a detailed process to whittle down a pool of eligible, promising companies to get to the top 100 winners.  Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration.

Yann Motte, Co-Founder and CEO of Webjam, was thrilled with the title: “Our innovative and pragmatic approach to enterprise social media have brought measurable benefits to many organisations, and I’m glad that our team effort has been recognised by the Tech Media Invest (TMI) Advisory Board – which consists of some of the UK’s most experienced investors in modern technology and media.”

The Tech Media Invest 100 aims to showcase high-growth companies that are developing innovative ways to serve business and consumers, and have the potential to radically change the shape of the technology and media industry.

Press Contacts:
 

Sush Calleemallay
Marketing Manager
Webjam
Tel: +44 (0)208 390 6690
Email: sush@webjam-ltd.com

Webjam, a provider of solutions for social publishing and engagement, today announced its own social Intranet ‘JamJar’ has been shortlisted for two industry leading awards: The DigiAwards 2010 organised by CorpComms and Digital Impact Awards 2010 organised by Communicate magazine.

JamJar is a result of Webjam’s enterprise 2.0 approach to improve internal communications and engagement through effective use of digital media.  It has successfully met the primary objective of being the daily destination for all employees to not only share news and knowledge, but also to generate ideas through lively conversation.

Marc Campman, Webjam’s Director of Marketing, was thrilled with the shortlistings: “As a provider of solutions for social publishing and engagement, we apply our knowledge and experience in implementing user-centric social media strategies to our own internal community; to enhance employees’ engagement and to improve understanding of our own company and offerings via an interactive and stimulating platform.  We are very proud to be competing against other high-profile enterprises such as Credit Suisse and Royal Mail.

By using JamJar regularly, our employees also get to experience the company’s social engagement offering first-hand.  Everyone within Webjam becomes an expert in the product, encouraging feedback and helping with product development.  New starters find it particularly useful as an introduction to the company and to other staff.”

Since its launch in April, Webjam has seen a drop in internal email traffic of 57 per cent, as ongoing discussions move onto the internal social network as conversations.  So far, the company has seen 100 ideas and 25 projects generated from the platform in the past three months, and most of them were inspired by simple, informal dialogues driven by staff within the organisation.

Now in its fifth year, CorpComms Awards recognise the best use of digital media in communication strategies.  Webjam has been shortlisted along with three other entries out of 12 submissions, for the Best Use of Digital Media in the Internal Communications category.  The judges have been looking for evidence of enhanced engagement and an improved understanding of the corporate message, for this category.

JamJar is also shortlisted for the Best Use of Digital to an Internal Audience: Best intranet category, at Digital Impact Awards, alongside Credit Suisse and Royal Mail.  This award requires companies to demonstrate how their Intranet has successfully tackled specific challenges, to deliver tangible results, as well as the strategy driving the implementation.

Both awards will be presented in September.

- Ends -

For more information about Webjam, visit www.webjam.com/webjam/press/

Press Contacts:
Marc Campman
Marketing Director, Webjam
Tel: +44 7545 328 921
Skype: marc Campman
Email: marc.campman@webjam-ltd.com

Luica Mak
PR Consultant
Tel: +44 790 547 1332
Email: info@makatwork.com

Webjam, a provider of solutions for social publishing and engagement, today announced the launch of the NME Breakthrough website for NME, Britain’s longest-running weekly music magazine.

NME has teamed up with Webjam to design, build and host a fully interactive online community for more than 4.2 million unique users from NME.com. NME Breakthrough provides a bespoke platform for artists to upload music, embed video content from other social networking sites such as YouTube, and grow their own fan-bases through community engagement.  Through NME Breakthrough, users can listen to their favourite bands, become fans and most importantly are able to rate their favourite songs and videos online. Based on Webjam’s ratings system and voted completely by users, the best artists and tracks are featured on the site. The best artists and music receive coverage in the magazine and will perform at upcoming events.  Live news feeds are also available all from one website, providing a complete platform for music fans.

David Moynihan, Editor of NME.com, commented, “NME Breakthrough is a step for us in providing a channel for artists and our users to connect with each other.  Our website and magazine play a key role in keeping our readers informed with the latest news and expert reviews, and this new social networking platform is giving our users direct interaction with bands.

It also acts as an important medium for bands to listen to what their fans want, through a simple rating feature. In addition, we are going to offer amazing opportunities on the site; the rewarded artists will perform at a NME Radar event as well as a key festival this summer.”

Lexie Mendelson, Business Development Director at Webjam, added, “We are thrilled to be part of this exciting process of bringing bands closer to their followers through the use of social networking.  We believe NME is leading the way in taking the publishing industry forward by combining print with online as well as social media.  It’s a great example of organisations understanding the importance of engaging with their target audience through ongoing conversations and interactions.  A well implemented social media strategy can be the most cost-effective tool for user engagement.”

The NME Breakthrough website is sponsored by Blackberry until early June and goes live on 4 May on http://music.nme.com

- Ends -

About NME
NME has become a truly unique multi-platform media proposition. Across the magazine, nme.com, NMETV, NME Radio and the brand's live events and awards, NME reaches over one million music fans every week. NME is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. Every week it gives its readers the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music, including award winning features, the latest releases, live reviews, the definitive guide to the best new bands in its Radar section, as well as a regular look back through the magazine's incredible 58 year heritage.


About Webjam
Webjam helps companies to connect with their customers and employees by providing them with an easy, affordable solution for social publishing and engagement. Our clients manage their own branded and customisable social media environment in which content is created and shared easily, communities grow naturally and social media networks integrate seamlessly.

Founded in 2006 and based in London, Webjam is a Guardian Tech Media 100 company and its platform is being used across a variety of sectors, from the world’s largest media and directory companies, to consumer brands and professional organisations.  Our corporate customers include Random House (the largest publisher of English language books), JWT (part of WPP, one of the world's largest advertising agencies), Yamaha Music and Make Your Mark.

For more information about Webjam, visit www.webjam.com/about_us/newsroom

Press Contacts:
Marc Campman
Marketing Director, Webjam
Tel: +44 7545 328 921
Skype: marc Campman
Email: marc.campman(at)webjam-ltd.com

Luica Mak
PR Consultant
Tel: +44 790 547 1332
Email: info(at)makatwork.com

NME
Anna Gawan, IPC Media
Tel: +44 203 148 5405
Email: anna_gawan(at)ipcmedia.com

London, - 19 January 2010: CCV Publishing, part of The Random House Group, has partnered with social networking solution provider, Webjam, to design, develop and host an interactive online community for its Vintage imprint. The ‘Vintage Reading Group’ not only lets book lovers discuss their latest reads, write reviews and interact with like-minded people about literature – but also allows them with one click to run their own personal reading group.

Through the Vintage Reading Group community portal, CCV hopes to interact more closely with its readers whilst giving them the opportunity to discover and discuss new books. The social network also allows readers to interact with those passionate about reading anywhere in the world. Within the Vintage Reading Group portal, readers can also develop their own reading group, bringing a traditional off-line community online.  Readers can invite members of their reading groups to join their own private social network focused around genres, authors, interests, books or simply to interact with their book-loving friends wherever they may be.

Claire Wilshaw, Vintage Marketing Manager, CCV Publishing, comments, "The Vintage Reading Group is a community of reading groups – where members can share ideas, recommend books and gain inspiration. Webjam allows us to forge a group of like-minded readers to engage in debate and receive feedback and ultimately, drive more sales of our books."

CCV has embraced the spirit of social media by making its portal open to everyone interested in books. This makes the portal an ideal platform for other literature-focused organisations, such as libraries and bookshops, to create their own sub-networks to let their customers interact easily and engage with other readers worldwide.

Commenting on the launch, Lexie Mendelson, Director of Business Development at Webjam, said: “The publishing industry is changing as are their customers in both the way they consume books and communicate with each other. By launching a social network and personalized reading groups CCV is putting a stake in the ground for the industry by innovating for the future whilst recognising the continued importance of the physical book to readers worldwide. A social network  provides the perfect forum for readers to discuss with others what they really feel about the books they’re reading.”  

ENDS

About CCV

CCV focuses on publishing quality literary fiction and non-fiction and is made up of eight different imprints: Chatto & Windus, Harvill Secker, Jonathan Cape, Yellow Jersey, The Bodley Head, Pimlico, Square Peg and Vintage.

Vintage in the UK was created in 1990 to publish paperback editions of the fiction and non-fiction books published by the literary hardback imprints in The Random House Group. In 2007 the list expanded to include Vintage Classics. This meant that the greatest writers from previous centuries, such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, and Henry James, were published alongside writers like Philip Roth, Ian McEwan and Martin Amis. This move was in keeping with the ambition of Vintage as a whole: to bring the best writers of yesterday, today and tomorrow to as wide a readership as possible.

About The Random House Group

The Random House Group is one of the largest general book publishing companies in the UK. The Group is based in London and has subsidiary companies in Australia, New Zealand and India, with a joint venture in South Africa called Random House Struik. 

The Group comprises five publishing companies: Cornerstone Publishing, CCV, Ebury Publishing, Random House Children's Books and Transworld Publishers, boasting more than 40 diverse and highly respected imprints. The Random House Group distribution business services its own imprints as well as 60 other UK publishers.

The Random House Group is an independently managed subsidiary of Random House Inc in the US, the trade book publishing division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's largest and most diversified integrated media companies.

London, – 26 November 2009: Webjam takes a major step forward in its development as a social media solutions provider, by announcing a full range of social media products and services for enterprises. This announcement is in line with Webjam’s positioning as a social publishing and engagement solutions provider helping companies to connect and engage with their customers, members or employees.

Webjam’s solutions portfolio now consists of Webjam’s social publishing platform to host the social media environment, the managed services to stay in control of the social media deployment and the consultancy and creative services to translate the client’s requirements into a unique, engaging and visually attractive social media solution.

Part of this announcement is the introduction of two versions of Webjam’s social media platform. Webjam Enterprise Edition with all the functionality to develop a fully branded and customisable social publishing and engagement environment. And Webjam Enterprise Plus for those customers who need larger networks, more control over layout and infrastructure and the ability to up-sell Premium services to their end-users.

Yann Motte, CEO and co-founder commented: “Webjam is now ideally positioned to advise our clients on how to structure, design and implement their social media strategy. Whether this is for managing online reputation, building online communities or enhancing social engagement between customers, members or employees, working with Webjam helps our clients to drive revenues and boost client satisfaction. Building on our expertise in the media, consumer brands, directories and membership organisations, we are now in an excellent position for a stellar 2010”.

As part of this announcement Webjam has upgraded its website (www.webjam.com).This new site, built on Webjam’s own solution, brings together all elements of Webjam’s value proposition while engaging with the various Webjam communities from business partners to editors.

29 October 2009:   Make Your Mark, the campaign to increase entrepreneurial behaviour in the UK, has teamed up with social networking solution provider Webjam, to design, build and host a fully interactive online community with over 80 local country community web sites, for Global Entrepreneurship Week, running from 16 – 22 November, 2009.

The worldwide event will connect young business brains from over 80 countries through local, national and global activities designed to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. To compliment and sustain the campaign throughout the year, Make Your Mark is using Webjam’s highly customisable social publishing platform to allow entrepreneurial people from around the world to connect, run events, share ideas, collaborate and open up new opportunities for each other.

Webjam’s platform also allows host countries to use editable site templates to create their own interactive network within the main site.  Host countries and their representative communities will then be able to blog, promote events as well as post comments, pictures and videos creating, for the first time, a high-tech online community for the global event. 

Marilise Saghbini, International Manager at Make Your Mark, co-founders of Global Entrepreneurship Week, commented, “Last year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week was a brilliant example of what can be achieved by bringing together different countries and cultures around the theme of enterprise.  This year, Webjam’s expertise and social networking platform has allowed us to maximise connectivity amongst the Week’s event participants – they will be able to join our community and network virtually with other entrepreneurial people, whether they are in Portsmouth or Palo Alto.”

Webjam Business Development Director, Lexie Mendelson, added, “We are thrilled to be involved in such a worthwhile global initiative. It illustrates how companies use Webjam to roll out multiple community sites while keeping brand consistency and full editorial control. By using the power of our social networking platforms, Make Your Mark is bringing the leaders of tomorrow together in one online community, allowing the finest young minds around the world to interact, engage and share content in relation to their common interests.”

ENDS

Notes to the editor:

About Webjam

Webjam helps companies to connect with their customers by providing them with an easy, affordable solution for social publishing and engagement. Our clients manage their own branded and customisable social media environment in which content is created and shared easily, communities grow naturally and social media networks integrate seamlessly.

Founded in 2006 and based in London, Webjam is a Guardian Tech Media 100 company and its platform is being used across a variety of sectors, from the world’s largest media and directory companies, to consumer brands and professional organisations.   

For more information about Webjam, visit www.webjam.com/webjam/press/

Press Contacts:

Marc Campman

Director of Marketing

Webjam

Tel: +44 7545 328 921

Skype: marc Campman

Email: marc.campman@webjam-ltd.com

Toby Brown

Buffalo Communications

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7 292 8680

Email: webjam@buffalo.co.uk

About Make Your Mark

Make Your Mark campaigns to increase entrepreneurial behaviour amongst people in the UK - to encourage them to have ideas and make them happen.

The campaign is run by Enterprise UK, which was founded by the four leading UK business membership organisations – the British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors. Their Director Generals sit on Enterprise UK’s board, which is chaired by entrepreneur Peter Jones. Enterprise UK is supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and is endorsed by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

For additional information: www.enterpriseuk.org

About Global Entrepreneurship Week

Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 – 22 November 2009) is a worldwide movement of entrepreneurial people, with millions unleashing their enterprising talents and turning their ideas into reality.  It was co-founded by Make Your Mark  in the UK and the Kauffman Foundation in the US.

Last year, there were 24,966 events and activities run in 77 countries, attended by more than 3.06 million people (644,000 of which were in the UK).

For additional information:  www.unleashingideas.org

For more information about Webjam, visit www.webjam.com/webjam/press/

29 October 2009:   JWT London, the WPP owned advertising agency, has selected Webjam to create an online internal collaboration community.

The completely bespoke platform will, for the first time, allow JWT London’s 300 staff in the UK to share ideas, inspiration and creativity across a network of co-edited blogs and forums, maximising campaigns and internal processes.  The site also enables different departments to have real time conversations and work more effectively as a team.

A key feature of the internal site is the Community Network tool which allows each department across the agency to create sub-communities at the touch of a button.  By having this unique feature in place, campaigns are hugely enriched as staff at all levels and departments can have full input into the development of a project, meaning less time spent receiving and collating feedback and more time spent creating award winning advertisements.

Ben Hopkins, Creative developer at JWT London, said, “We chose to partner with Webjam because it offered the most diverse and robust platform to accomplish our creative aspirations. It seamlessly blends functional elements while keeping community at its core. We are confident that WOW will make a great addition to help build our already close-knit creative community.”

Webjam Business Development Director, Lexie Mendelson, commented, “We are thrilled to be working with an innovative agency such as JWT.  Webjam are setting the internal collaboration scene of the future by providing internal social networking solutions to forward thinking businesses such as JWT London.”  

Ends

Notes to the editor:

About Webjam

Webjam helps companies to connect with their customers by providing them with an easy, affordable solution for social publishing and engagement. Our clients manage their own branded and customisable social media environment in which content is created and shared easily, communities grow naturally and social media networks integrate seamlessly.

Founded in 2006 and based in London, Webjam is a Guardian Tech Media 100 company and its platform is being used across a variety of sectors, from the world’s largest media and directory companies, to consumer brands and professional organisations.   

For more information about Webjam, visit www.webjam.com/webjam/press/

Press Contacts:

Marc Campman

Director of Marketing

Webjam

Tel: +44 7545 328 921

Skype: marc Campman

Email: marc.campman@webjam-ltd.com

Toby Brown

Buffalo Communications

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7 292 8680

Email: webjam@buffalo.co.uk

About JWT London

JWT London put the hole in the Polo, the Mr Kipling in cake and invented the 30” spot.  We pioneered the world’s first unbranded, interactive commercial for Smirnoff and have created some of the most memorable advertising campaigns in history; Beattie (for BT), ‘Have a Break. Have a Kit Kat’ for Nestle, ‘They’re Grrrreat’ for Kellogg’s Frosties, the Andrex puppy for Kimberly Clark, Snap Crackle and Pop for Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, the list goes on...

In 2008/2009 we have continued to create groundbreaking, innovative campaigns for our clients that creatively cut though the cluttered new media landscape and have sold more products to more people.

The world has changed in the last 18months.  In light of the recession we were the first agency to realise the power of a well-loved brand icon in the Andrex Puppy – our ‘Fake’ commercial ran in December 2008, long before other brands launched their ‘heritage’ campaigns.

JWT London, which celebrates its 143rd anniversary this year, ranks as the largest advertising agency brand in the United States and as the fourth largest full-service network in the world with 9,600 employees in 89 countries. Its parent company is WPP.

For more information about Webjam, visit www.webjam.com/webjam/press/

London, – 24 July 2009:   Webjam, the social network solutions company, today announced the completion of its management team with the appointment of Marc Campman as Marketing Director.  This signals another milestone in Webjam’s transformation to accelerate its growth into the business to business social media space. Webjam is now fully equipped with the experience and solutions necessary to take their consumer sector momentum into the competitive and fast growing business market. 

Marc is the latest appointment in a string of strategic managerial hires during the last year.  Marc will join Lexie Mendelson, Business Development Director;  John Eikenberry, CIO/CTO; Alberto Barreiro, Co-Founder and Creative Director; Marcus Greenwood, Co-Founder and Director of platform architecture and Yann Motte, Co-Founder and CEO.   Together, they share a wealth of experience in the social media and high tech space in both large companies and small start-ups such as AOL, IBM, Yahoo, be2, WooWho, WeeWorld, Lycos-Europe and Aristocrat Gaming. 

Speaking on the completion of the management team, Yann Motte, Co-founder and CEO of Webjam, said: “Webjam continues to attract leading organisations and brands to help them engage, empower and monetise their communities. The experience of the management team in a wide variety of business segments  will be key in making the Webjam platform the most sought after social network solution.”

This announcement follows recent contract successes with organisations and agencies such as Yamaha Music, JWT (Advertising agency) and Make Your Mark (organisers of the Global Entrepreneurship Week), putting Webjam in an excellent position to become the leading provider of social media solutions and consultancy to the B2B sector.

-ENDS-

Press Contacts :

John Brown
Buffalo Communications
t: +44 (0) 207 292 8685
e: john.brown(at)buffalo.co.uk

Marc Campman
Marketing Director
Webjam
t: +44 (0) 203 170 8741
e:marc.campman(at)webjam-ltd.com

Notes to the editor:

About Webjam
Webjam allows any organisation to build branded or white-labelled online communities in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) mode, enabling them to extend their brand into vibrant, interactive and monetised online communities. Webjam differentiates by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules & styles, and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications, lay-outs or even entire sites. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam makes it easy to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering “Apple-like simplicity for website building”. Founded in 2006 in London by a British, Spanish and French entrepreneurs and backed by venture capital firm I-Source, it is now used by prestigious organisations, from professional forums and alumni associations to some of the largest UK publishers.

For more information about Webjam, visit www.webjam.com/webjam/press/

22 June 2009:   Make Your Mark, the campaign to increase entrepreneurial behaviour in the UK, has teamed up with social networking solution provider, Webjam, to design, build and host a fully interactive online community for Global Entrepreneurship Week, running from 16 – 22 November, 2009.

The worldwide event will connect young business brains from over 70 countries through local, national and global activities designed to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. To complement and sustain the campaign throughout the year, Make Your Mark is using Webjam’s highly customisable social publishing platform to allow entrepreneurial people from around the world to share ideas, collaborate and open up new opportunities for each other.

Webjam’s platform also allows host countries to use editable templates to create their own interactive network within the main site.  Host countries and their representative communities will then be able to blog, promote events as well as post comments, pictures and videos creating, for the first time, a high-tech online community for the global event.  

Chris Spavin, Global Outreach Manager of the Make Your Mark campaign, commented, “Last year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week was a brilliant example of what can be achieved by bringing together different countries and cultures around the theme of enterprise.  This year, Webjam’s expertise and social networking platform has allowed us to maximise connectivity amongst the Week’s event participants – they will be able to join our community and network virtually with other entrepreneurial people, whether they are in Portsmouth or Palo Alto.”

Webjam Business Development Director, Lexie Mendelson, added, “We are thrilled to be involved in such a worthwhile global initiative. By using the power of our social networking platforms, Make Your Mark is bringing the leaders of tomorrow together in one online community, allowing the finest young minds around the world to interact in a virtual world.”

View the site: www.unleashingideas.org

Ends

Press Contacts :

James Cook
t: +44(0)203 170 8741
e: james.cook@webjam-ltd.com

Notes to the editor:

About Webjam
Webjam allows any organisation to build branded or white-labelled online communities in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) mode, enabling them to extend their brand into vibrant, interactive and monetised online communities. Webjam differentiates by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules & styles, and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications, lay-outs or even entire sites. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam makes it easy to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering “Apple-like simplicity for website building”. Founded in 2006 in London by a British, Spanish and French entrepreneurs and backed by venture capital firm I-Source, it is now used by prestigious organisations, from professional forums and alumni associations to some of the largest UK publishers.

For more information about Webjam, visit www.webjam.com/webjam/press/


About Make Your Mark
Make Your Mark campaigns to increase entrepreneurial behaviour amongst people in the UK - to encourage them to have ideas and make them happen.

The campaign is run by Enterprise Insight, which was founded by the four leading UK business membership organisations – the British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors. Their Director Generals sit on Enterprise Insight’s board, which is chaired by entrepreneur Peter Jones. Enterprise Insight is supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and is endorsed by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
For additional information: www.makeyourmark.org.uk


About Global Entrepreneurship Week
Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 – 22 November 2009) is a worldwide movement of entrepreneurial people, with millions unleashing their enterprising talents and turning their ideas into reality.  It was co-founded by Make Your Mark and the Kauffman Foundation.

Last year, there were 24,966 events and activities run in 77 countries, attended by more than 3.06 million people (644,000 of which were in the UK).

For additional information: www.unleashingideas.org

ENDS

About Webjam - "Your social networks made easy"

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free or subscription-based platform to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks, with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom. Webjam Branded Services allow larger organisations to build branded online communities in a Software as a Service (SaaS) mode.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications and lay-outs. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering "Apple-like simplicity for website building", and touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For additional information: www.webjam.com

About OpenSocial

OpenSocial defines a common API for social applications across multiple websites. With standard JavaScript and HTML, developers can create apps that access a social network's friends and update feeds. A common API means you have less to learn to build for multiple websites.

For additional information: http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/


Further enquiries
Lexie Mendelson
Business Development & Marketing Director
Webjam
t: +44(0)203 170 8741
e: lexie.mendelson@webjam-ltd.com

About The Nokia Maps Everest Test

The culmination of a demanding 9 day trek in the Himalayas The Nokia Maps Everest Test is a competitive Twenty20 cricket match at 5165m on Mt Everest. Pushing the physical and mental boundaries of conventional sport this expedition will officially set a world record for the highest altitude for field sport. The team will face multiple challenges in both reaching the plateau of Gorak Shep, such as Acute Mountain Sickness, and attempting to competitively play sport with only 66% the oxygen found at sea level. The expedition's success lies in a committed combination of adventure and teamwork, trust and tolerance. The expedition is led by Richard Kirtley-Wright and Gareth Wesley.

For additional information: www.theeveresttest.com

Further enquiries:

James Cook
Webjam
t: +44(0)203 170 8741
e: james.cook@webjam-ltd.com
     
Richard Kirtley
Nokia Maps Everest Test
e: richard.theeveresttest@googlemail.com

Venda for Small Business, part of Venda, the market leader for eCommerce solutions, has linked with Webjam, the UK’s answer to branded and white-label social publishing and community networks, to offer a combined platform for e-commerce and website publishing tools for small business enterprises.  Webjam & Venda will integrate their respective products to provide an even more compelling toolset for a small business to build their online presence. The cross-distribution of the respective services will launch by the end of Q1 2009.

In the SME retail market-place, Venda and Webjam’s solutions are perfectly placed to deliver a cost effective yet sophisticated proposition for those companies who have yet to allow their customers to transact with them through the web.

Pavel Kilovatiy, CEO, Venda for Small Business commented, "Venda and Webjam share the same vision that SMEs should have easy access to e-commerce and social publishing tools. Bundling our two offerings provides any business with a turn-key solution for all aspects of their web-presence. We certainly feel that the combined offering is very complimentary to both parties and will further help our small businesses grow the awareness and revenues they want to achieve online."

Yann Motte, co-founder and CEO, Webjam added, "In this retail economy, a simple, comprehensive and customisable business template for online ecommerce needs to be available for start-ups that includes all selling and social aspects required to be successful. We think this will significantly help smaller established businesses to stay competitive, and for new ones to launch."

The alliance are soon to launch a co-branded shop developer and designer community site, providing access to products, customer care, features, and regular webinars to create a collaborative environment for clients.

- ENDS

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free or subscription-based platform to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks, with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom. Webjam Branded Services allow larger organisations to build branded online communities in a Software as a Service (SaaS) mode.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications and lay-outs. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering "Apple-like simplicity for website building", and touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For additional information: www.webjam.com

About Venda® for Small Business

Venda® for Small Business delivers an affordable, high specification eCommerce solution as a managed service (SaaS) for all inclusive pricing of £49.99 inc VAT per month.

The solution includes all the Content Management, Catalogue Management and Order Management tools required to run an online store effectively, all accessible through an easy to use web interface.

Customers are able to build a store in a matter of days with no technical expertise required. Launched in October last year alongside the Enterprise solution, it already has gained significant traction with hundreds of registered customers.

Further enquiries:

Annika Erskine
Marketing Manager
Webjam
t: +44(0)203 170 8741
e: annika.erskine@webjam-ltd.com       

Steve Emecz
Business Development Director
Venda
t: (0)20 7070 7000
e: semecz@venda.com

 Webjam where social networks are made easy, today announces the launch of their Premium Services for members who want to create fully customisable, robust websites without great expense or pre-existing web-design skills.

The subscription services allow users to replace Webjam branding on their custom website with their own, control advertising, create a branded registration process for new members and import their own URL as well as having access to all the standard Webjam tools including advanced co-editing and privacy features.

Premium Services are suitable for individual end users, community leaders and businesses, whilst the sites created can range from the professional, personal, topical, or fan sites, clubs and societies.

Brands, organisations and companies can also now add recurring subscription services to their branded environment by up-selling the Premium Services to members, thus increasing the ability to monetise their communities.

“Webjam is dedicated to empowering communities with a purpose. The community leaders of clubs, charities, professional groups and small businesses have long lacked a simple, affordable solution to create bespoke websites and social networks,” comments Yann Motte, CEO of Webjam, “Webjam is excited to release a competitively-priced bundle to answer this need.”

Webjam’s introductory Premium Service offer is a bundled package for £12.95 per month or £99 per year. Premium Services can be purchased in sterling, US dollars, euros or through PayPal.

Premium subscribers also benefit from greater storage space and increased member numbers with up to 5k email newsletters, 1k members and 20GB of storage space per webjam.

The basic Webjam offering remains free and will continue to allow users to set up versatile communities, featuring forums, blogs, polls, photos, maps and videos, activity feeds, rich media and more.

Webjam Premium and Branded Services are also available for resellers to add to their own portfolio of products and services.

- ENDS

Further enquiries:

Nicholas Vangelis
Skywrite Communications
nick.vangelis@skywritecomms.com
+44 20 7608 4680

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free or subscription-based platform to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks, with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom. Webjam Branded Services allow larger organisations to build branded online communities in a Software as a Service (SaaS) mode.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications and lay-outs. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering "Apple-like simplicity for website building", and touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For additional information: www.webjam.com

Webjam, where social networks are made easy,  announces the pricing and reseller scheme for Community Network Services, its pay-for Branded Services package available now to resellers like digital agencies, web designers, directories and online services providers.

Webjam’s Community Network Services gives resellers who may not have specific in-house technology the ability to bundle an easy to use and versatile social publishing platform with their existing offering to corporate customers. Resellers can quickly build branded online inter-connected communities for their clients’ customers including branded replicable templates with their own domain names and advertising. Through Community Network Services, Webjam empowers a limitless number of end-users to create their own micro-communities, facilitating viral growth of corporate brands and transforming a huge, passive audience into a fully interactive community.

Webjam CEO, Yann Motte comments: “By opening up the Webjam platform to resellers we are completely disrupting the status quo for the social media market. For the first time a simple, one-stop, bespoke solution to create corporate social networks is available for purchase. We are empowering companies to take control of their social media presence without the need to build a platform from scratch or license an expensive content and community management system.”

Yann continues, “Our resellers benefit from a versatile, easy to use platform that can be quickly customised to suit a client’s specific needs, saving both time and money. With Webjam, every reseller can be seen as an expert and innovator in social media, providing their clients with alternative revenue through online advertising and subscription services combined with an in-built viral engine and powerful tools for brand engagement.”

Webjam’s  Community Network Services are priced at £499 per month with an initial set-up fee of £2999. Webjam is also releasing several Managed Service options: 

• 1½ day training pack
• Skin pack – ‘Ready to go’ design, graphics and logo
• Engagement pack – populate blog, forum, moderation
• Dedicated account management & end user support
• Bespoke widget design and build

• a viral engine for brands to leverage on what the community does best
• a simple and easy-to-use social publishing platform to publish and share information with privacy, member management and collaboration
• a powerful community management tool, from modular privacy settings to replication and co-edition rights, to easily share site maintenance and community management from a single platform
• a hassle-free turn-key solution where Webjam provides the platform, hosting and if necessary additional services like editorial and community management

- ENDS

Further enquiries:

Nicholas Vangelis
Skywrite Communications
nick.vangelis@skywritecomms.com
+44 20 7608 4680

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free or subscription-based platform to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks, with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom. Webjam Branded Services allow larger organisations to build branded online communities in a Software as a Service (SaaS) mode.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications and lay-outs. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering "Apple-like simplicity for website building", and touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For additional information: www.webjam.com

One publication has bucked the trend of declining circulations by taking a fresh approach in the way it interacts with its audience.  By implementing a specific strategy to engage through Webjam’s Branded Services, The Other Side has managed to develop a deep relationship with its audience in only six months. The Other Side’s online community now reaches nearly 400 people who regularly share and discuss news, opinion and events in and around the Northern Line in London.

Founder of The Other Side, Sam Lassman comments; “For us, it’s been critical to engage in ways that are really going to gain traction with our audience.  Developing The Other Side across the Webjam platform has meant that not only are we able to interact with our audience on a more personal level, but they can also interact with us and actually generate the kind of content they wish to see for themselves.” 

Webjam CEO, Yann Motte added: “The Other Side is a brilliant example of how publishers can create real value.  Being literally within millimeters of their audience’s appetite for cultural news and views in and around the Northern Line in London, the Other Side has managed to really flourish during times which have been tough for the industry as a whole.”

Webjam Branded Services are suitable for non-profit organisations, brands, media and e-commerce companies, whilst the member sites created can range from the professional, personal, topical, or simple fan sites, clubs and societies.

- ENDS

Further enquiries:

Nicholas Vangelis
Skywrite Communications
nick.vangelis@skywritecomms.com
+44 20 7608 4680

or

Sonia Kalfon,
Webjam Ltd
media@webjam-ltd.com
+44 20 3170 8741

About Webjam

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free or subscription-based platform to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks, with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom. Webjam Branded Services allow larger organisations to build branded online communities in a Software as a Service (SaaS) mode.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications and lay-outs. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering "Apple-like simplicity for website building", and touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For additional information: www.webjam.com

Webjam, the place for you, your groups and your sites today announces the launch of its Branded Services which enable businesses and organisations to create custom online communities, under the motto “Your social networks made easy”.  Webjam’s Branded Service is the only platform that allows companies to give their audience, members or clients the ability to create their own social networks to spread awareness and bring a sense of purpose and community within a branded environment.

Through Webjam, users can manage forums, blogs, polls, photos, maps, videos and more. Webjam allows companies to initiate a faster interactive discussion about their products or services amongst their audience and to aggregate user generated content (UGC) and re-purpose it as a way to engage and empower their audience.

A number of organisations including The Sanctuary, Yamaha Music Education, The Centre for Policy Studies, Zone New Media and the Digital Hub Development Agency have already piloted the service to great effect.

Ian Clethero, Managing Director of Zone New Media explains: “Webjam acts as a channel to virally spread information about us, as a forum for discussions and as a means to quickly set-up a community around an event. At the same time, Webjam is straightforward and simple to use allowing anyone within Zone New Media to maintain the site.  Our audience loves the level of interaction that Webjam affords and the ability to set up their own sites from the branded templates we’ve provided.”

Thanks to easy site creation and replicable templates, Webjam can enable hundreds of users to create their own micro-communities, facilitating  viral spreading of the brand through users to a huge, untapped, passive audience, now transformed into a fully interactive community.

Webjam CEO, Yann Motte comments: “Businesses cannot afford to ignore the advantages that social media can bring. Currently, most social networking sites only allow organisations to create separate social networks that are simply a collection of individuals. However, as a next-generation social networking tool, Webjam brings the concept of social publishing to the next level by allowing users to create their own social network within the brand’s environment.”

Webjam gives any brand or organisation:

• a viral engine to leverage on what they and the community do best via branded website templates
• a simple and easy-to-use social publishing platform to publish and share information with privacy settings, member management tools and co-editing options
• a hassle-free turn-key solution where Webjam provides the platform, hosting and if necessary additional services like editorial and community management

- ENDS

Further enquiries:

Nicholas Vangelis
Skywrite Communications
nick.vangelis@skywritecomms.com
+44 20 7608 4680

or

Sonia Kalfon,
Webjam Ltd
media@webjam-ltd.com
+44 20 3170 8741

About Webjam

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free or subscription-based platform to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks, with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom. Webjam Branded Services allow larger organisations to build branded online communities in a Software as a Service (SaaS) mode.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications and lay-outs. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering "Apple-like simplicity for website building", and touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For additional information: www.webjam.com

Webjam today announced it has secured a further £1 million (1.9M USD/1.2M EU) in funding led by initial investor I-Source. Webjam allows individuals and organisations to build fully customisable, purpose-driven social networks, with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom. Webjam represents the next generation social publishing platform that extends ‘sharing’ to all aspects of social networks by allowing users to replicate any part of webjams created by others. The A round extension will be used to accelerate Webjam’s developments in the B2B2C market which enables businesses and organisations to create custom online communities through its new Branded Services offering.

Webjam’s new paid-for service allows organisations to build branded online communities and furthermore empowers individuals in those communities to automatically replicate their own branded splinter social publishing platforms. Currently in pilot mode, Webjam’s Branded Services offering has already been used to great effect by a number of organisations including Yamaha Music Education, the Centre for Policy Studies, Zone Mag and The Digital Hub Development Agency. The full Branded Services programme will be available to all in September 2008 in a Software as a Service (SaaS) fee-paying version.

The £1 million reinvestment demonstrates I-Source’s confidence in Webjam’s strategy. Eric Harle, Managing Partner of I-Source commented: "With the single aim to back the hottest technology start-ups with the biggest potential for growth in Europe, Webjam remains a key investment for I-Source. By December we anticipate that Webjam will have secured stable revenue streams around fees, premiums and advertising as web 2.0 services become established in the minds of businesses and organisations as an essential part of reaching and interacting with their customer base."

Yann Motte, co-founder and CEO of Webjam added: "With I-Source support, we will continue to execute our vision to enable communities with a purpose. Webjam is built around the democratic premise that anyone should be able to build and manage their own social networks, regardless of whether they are an individual, corporation or charitable cause. As such we differentiate ourselves with features like our unique replication facility which provides the tools for organisations who want to engage and empower their communities to spread the word."

Webjam Branded Services is the solution of choice for organisations with large communities of users or customers, such as printed media, retailers, interest groups, sport and education organisations, think tanks and charities which want to easily connect online and share content in a controlled and safe environment.

- ENDS

Further enquiries:

Nicholas Vangelis
Skywrite Communications
nick.vangelis@skywritecomms.com
+44 20 7608 4680

or

Sonia Kalfon,
Webjam Ltd
media@webjam-ltd.com
+44 20 3170 8741

About Webjam

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free or subscription-based platform to create customisable, purpose-driven social networks, with the flexibility to control what is shared with whom. Webjam Branded Services allow larger organisations to build branded online communities in a Software as a Service (SaaS) mode.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate contents, applications and lay-outs. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

A finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, Webjam has been compared to Ning by CNET, offering "Apple-like simplicity for website building", and touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For additional information: www.webjam.com

About I-Source

I-Source is an early stage venture capital firm, focusing on Information and Communication Technologies (Software, SaaS, Multimedia and Telecom). We invest at first and following rounds in early stage technological companies. Our funds are managed by a stable and senior team with a strong background in the industry, in finance and in entrepreneurship. This allows us to actively support each portfolio company and bring significant added value. With 175 M€ under management, I-Source has invested in 60+ companies since its inception in 1999.

For additional information: www.isourcegestion.fr

Social network users fed up with updating multiple profiles, contact lists and activities have a new tool to help manage their online presence. Webjam, the place for you, your groups and your sites today announces that it has launched a ‘badge creator’ so users can easily and simply build a profile that can be embedded into any site they want.

As Webjam’s badge creator allows users to keep their profile in sync around the web, it also addresses the pressing issue of data privacy, helping users of social networks to decide for themselves what data they show and how it will be used.

Yann Motte, Co-founder and CEO of Webjam said, “First and foremost, we are focused on looking at the issues from the perspective of the user and the fuss of managing profiles across multiple sites is a real bug bear for them. Most of our users have a presence in more than one web-based social networks or applications and the Webjam badge fulfils the need for more flexibility and control in sharing their information between different places on the web.”

The badge works by providing a template of key data with customisation options, which then gives the user the html to embed anywhere they want to replicate that information. Users can control the data that is held on the badge including profile information, friends, a list of their sites and even their latest activities, which can be viewed even if the viewer is not logged into Webjam.

Yann continues, “Data portability and the implication it has on privacy is an immensely important issue in the web 2.0 arena. Our badge creator is the first deliverable of our overall goal to enable individuals to truly be able to decide what to do with their own data and how it gets used by others.”

Webjam is the next generation tool in social publishing, allowing any individual, organisation or corporation to give a sense of purpose to their online connections and manage their web presence, from the content they share to the groups they interact with. Webjam is the solution of choice for local communities, interest groups, think tanks or charities which want to easily connect online and share content in a controlled and safe environment.

Webjam was recently named as a finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008.

- ENDS

Further enquiries:

Nicholas Vangelis, Skywrite Communications, nick.vangelis@skywritecomms.com, +44 20 7608 4680

Sonia Kalfon, Webjam Ltd, media@webjam-ltd.com, +44 20 3170 8741

About Webjam

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free and flexible platform to create a relevant and personalised web presence.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate content, applications and lay-outs. Users are able to piece together their perfect online community, taking feeds from major services including Flickr, Google, YouTube, Amazon and Gmail. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

Webjam was recently na,ed as a finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, and has been touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For more information about “the place for you, your groups, your sites”, visit www.webjam.com.

When thinking of the most solitary professions, Arctic explorers or tube drivers might come to mind, but apparently the life of a music teacher – often working alone or in small departments - can be a lonely one, at least as far as contact with other music education professionals goes.

But don’t start playing those tiny violins just yet. Striking a chord with UK music teachers, Webjam, the place for you, your groups and your sites, and Yamaha have teamed up to deliver the Yamaha Music Education online community – a place to connect, interact and collaborate. Teachers joining the community at www.yamahaeducation.co.uk can collaborate with each other and Yamaha to promote and further music education.

Webjam allows the community to orchestrate an overwhelming range of features, including:

• Forums and discussion boards.
• One to one communication with other members.
• RSS feeds to aggregate relevant information from all over the web.
• Posting and sharing streaming video and MP3s.

In addition, the Yamaha webjam has a unique replication system which allows teachers to create their own blogs about music education which can all be linked back to the main community. Members can also buy and sell musical instruments, as well as keeping themselves updated about recent events in the industry and competitions for up and coming talent that their students may wish to enter.

Bill Martin, Education Liaison Manager, Yamaha Music UK Ltd said, “Originally I just wanted a blog that people with something interesting to say could use and attract a community. However, on coming across Webjam I realised there was so much more we could do. You can have a forum, a blog, profile, MP3 player, polls, YouTube videos, the lot. It’s very simple to set up and the interface works brilliantly. Already we’ve attracted a huge number of visitors and members to the site and are well on the way to building a real community for music teachers to make their voice heard in multimedia. If you want to run a club, community or association, Webjam is a fantastic resource and I recommend it wholeheartedly”.

Yann Motte, co-founder and CEO of WebJam, added, “It’s great to see Webjam being used to create communities by such a huge range of people with such diverse needs, from bringing together the millions of Londoners that use the Northern Line every day to smaller groups including local football teams and knitting circles. It really is putting the internet back into the hands of the people.”

Webjam was recently named as a finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008.

- ENDS

Further enquiries:

Nicholas Vangelis, Skywrite Communications, nick.vangelis@skywritecomms.com, +44 20 7608 4680

Sonia Kalfon, Webjam Ltd, media@webjam-ltd.com, +44 20 3170 8741

About Webjam

Webjam provides individuals and organisations with a free and flexible platform to create a relevant and personalised web presence.

Founded in 2006 by a British, a Spanish and a French entrepreneur in London, UK, Webjam differentiates itself by bundling powerful community features with an easy drag-and-drop interface, a rich catalogue of modules and styles and a unique feature to replicate content, applications and lay-outs. Users are able to piece together their perfect online community, taking feeds from major services including Flickr, Google, YouTube, Amazon and Gmail. Available to everyone regardless of technical skills, Webjam allows anyone to share their creations and learn from others.

Webjam was recently na,ed as a finalist in the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008, and has been touted as an alternative to Facebook by BBC News Online.

For more information about “the place for you, your groups, your sites”, visit www.webjam.com.