Social Networking Finds a Purpose with Personal Bar Recommendations from RatePubs.com
RatePubs.com puts social networking to use with new a new service which provides personalized recommendations of bars around the world. Recommendations are based on both immediate networks of friends, and virtual networks of people who go to or like the same bars.
(PRWEB) June 28, 2005 -- Cork, IE If you’ve ever searched for a good bar then
personalized recommendations from RatePubs.com are for you.
RatePubs Personal Recommendations provides specific
recommendations of pubs and bars around the world customized for each
individual. Based on what you have previously said you liked and what your
friends suggest, personal recommendations can help you to travel the world sure
in the knowledge that you can find somewhere you will like for food, drink or
atmosphere.
Personal Recommendations are part of the new range of social
networking features from RatePubs.com. These features mean it is now easier
than ever to find people who visit the same places you do, meet new
friends, keep in touch with them and much more.
According to Brian
O’Connell the CEO of RatePubs, these new social networking features differ from
those of other sites because of what they are designed to do;
“Having used
social networking sites myself I was impressed by the concept but not the
implementation. Gathering lists of friends and their friends seemed somewhat
pointless and sterile by itself. But the concept remained interesting and was
one that I felt we could adapt to be useful to our visitors.
This led to some
discussions internally and finally to the implementation we’re announcing
today.”
The RatePubs Social Network contains a range of features
including;
• MyNews – Create mini-blogs to keep your friends up
to date with what’s happening in your life.
• MyTags – Members can define
themselves with tags or allow their friends to tag them.
• MyLocal – Identify
bars you regularly visit, find others who hang out in the same places and see
what other bars they recommend.
• MyFriends – Find friends and add them to
your list so you can keep in touch easily, and automatically get their
recommendations.
• MyCrushes –Mark someone as a crush and see if they feel
the same way. Crushes are kept secret unless a match is made.
• Bar Reviews
– The core of the site, RatePubs.com allows visitors to review pubs and bars around the world. These reviews go into
determining their personal recommendations.
An exciting aspect of
RatePubs is how a person automatically builds a virtual network simply by using
the site. Recommendations are made based on recommendations from a members
immediate network of friends and from their virtual network which consists of
people who frequent or like the same bars.
As Brian explained, "Combining
virtual networks with immediate ones means that a person can gain the benefits
of recommendations without having to work at building a list of friends. This
makes the site immediately useful to anyone. Of course the more a person uses
the site, either by writing reviews or making friends, the more recommendations we
can provide. This is the real benefit of social networking."
As members
browse the site their personal recommendations are highlighted to them. They can
then get further information on why that premises was recommended at the same
time as they read more information on the bar, including the reviews. Personal
recommendations are also highlighted on the downloadable PDA and paper guides
available to members.
Membership of RatePubs.com and its social
networking features, including personal bar recommendations,
is free and available at www.ratepubs.com.
About RatePubs.com
RatePubs.com is
a service of Minotaur Software in Cork, Ireland. Among the 50,000 busiest web
sites in the world (source Alexa.com) RatePubs.com is the premier destination
for those seeking information on bars around the world.
RatePubs also
supply information to a range of other specialist and tourist sites including www.aguest-of-ireland.com, www.aguest-of-europe.com, www.irishfestivals.com,
ww.californiabarguide.com, www.irishpubsdirectory.com and others.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb255300.htm