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Zvents and American Towns Announce Agreement to Expand Local Online Community Resources
SAN MATEO, CA and FAIRFIELD, CT - April 2, 2008 - Zvents, the local search engine for things to do, and AmericanTowns, a national network of hyperlocal community based websites, today announced an agreement to increase online awareness about grassroots activities, neighborhood organizations, and local events across the United States, reaching beyond the big cities to vibrant but smaller communities.
Zvents will power the "Things to Do" platform for AmericanTowns, adding millions of important cultural and recreational events, venues and performer listings to AmericanTowns' extensive database of over 10 million community events and 100,000 organizational listings. Zvents will also share AmericanTowns' rich local content> with the millions of unique users around the world already using Zvents' cutting-edge local search technology products as part of the Zvents Media Network. As a result, users of both companies' sites will be able to find, share, contribute and promote a broader range of events to a wider audience.
"We realize that the majority of online resources focus on 'big events' in metropolitan areas, which is why we want to provide a solution for people to find things quickly and easily at their own doorsteps," said Ethan Stock, Zvents CEO and co-founder. "By collaborating with AmericanTowns, Zvents will give people more direct access to what's going on at the local level in their respective communities."
"While AmericanTowns is strong in hyper-local community events, our users also want to know about the big "Things to Do" that are nearby," added Ted Buerger, chairman and co-founder of AmericanTowns. "Zvents has that content with related information on venues, performers, etc., and has solid existing distribution channels to help our community organizations 'get the word out' as broadly as possible. It's good for both of us, for our users and for the communities we serve."
Zvents currently powers search and local content for more than 200 media partners such as LA.com and Boston.com, as well as newspapers including the Detroit News, Denver Post, and the San Jose Mercury News.
Under the agreement, AmericanTowns will join the Zvents network and it will distribute Zvents' content to AmericanTowns' 10,000-plus distinct community-based websites. In turn, Zvents will syndicate AmericanTowns' town and local community listings across Zvents' entire distribution channel.
About Zvents
Zvents is the leading local search engine featuring things to do. Zvents provides a complete and compelling user experience, enabling users to find, contribute, share and promote events, venues, and performers. The company aggregates rich event information from the open web, user-contributed content, and links high-quality editorial content from partners with its local event index. With the Zvents Media Platform, Zvents' local content index and search engine powers media partners and publishers with dynamic local event content and a reverse publishing platform, which streamlines publishing resources. For more information, visit www.Zvents.com.
About AmericanTowns
AmericanTowns is a national network of community-based websites where residents can find and share local information, and includes the nation's most extensive online database of community events, community groups, local resources and special tools for organizations. For each of 10,000 US towns (total population: 190 million), AmericanTowns has created a "community webspace" to connect citizens, community organizations and locally-focused businesses and to strengthen the bonds of our nation's communities. AmericanTowns featured more than 10 million community events in 2007, plus powerful tools to help more than 100,000 listed community organizations interact more effectively with local citizens. Founded in 2000, AmericanTowns is headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut. Visit www.AmericanTowns.com.