Izea

The Premier Event for Bloggers Comes to Orlando for Three Days of Education and Networking with Fellow Content Creators and Marketers

ORLANDO, FL (May 28, 2008) IZEA, the world's largest social marketing network, today announced the dates and schedule of events for IZEAFest '08, the year's premier event for bloggers being held September 11-13th in Orlando. The event includes a "who's who" list of today's most well-known bloggers, exciting online marketers, and leading social media experts, along with a comprehensive selection of informative sessions and panel discussions covering everything that today's active blogger needs to know. Advertisers and other marketers interested in reaching and influencing the growing "blogosphere" and online social networking industry will also gain valuable insight and networking opportunities. Blogging is growing at an incredibly active pace, with more than 175,000 new blogs appearing every day. Bloggers update their blogs regularly to the tune of over 1.6 million posts per day, or over 18 updates a second, according to Technorati, the recognized authority on tracking and indexing blogs. As the space evolves, many bloggers are now utilizing their blog as a monetizing platform, promoting advertisers through a variety of mediums. IZEAFest is designed to help bloggers become better bloggers, while connecting educating them about advertiser needs.

IZEAFest features keynote speeches from 2 of the top 100 bloggers in the world. Jeremy Shoemaker, the famed blogger who went from unemployment to 8 figures in only 4 years, using his blog "ShoeMoney" will kickoff the event. Merlin Mann, an independent writer, broadcaster and author of 43folders.com will keynote the second day. Susie Gardner, author of "Blogging for Dummies" will lead a session on improving blog content. Other sessions will be conducted by leading personalities in the blogosphere and include "Improving Your Content", "Growing Traffic", "What Advertisers Want", "Blog Design and Makeover" and "Big Money Bloggers."

The sessions will be conducted in a fun, open and interactive manner, and bloggers are encouraged to bring their specific questions with them for expert discussion and analysis. Every item on the agenda was designed specifically to either enhance a bloggers' experience; to better market and promote a blog; or to do both. Attendees will have the benefit of direct interaction with some of the most experienced and knowledgeable bloggers on the Web.

"We are incredibly excited about IZEAFest'08," said Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA. "With all the informative content available, direct access to key blogging personalities, and the extraordinary networking opportunities, this really is a can't-miss event for bloggers of all kind - from those who only post once and awhile to the real hardcore daily bloggers."

The event will take place on the grounds of the beautiful Grand Bohemian Hotel in sunny downtown Orlando, Florida. Registration information can be found at www.izeafest.com. IZEA has partnered with the Downtown Orlando Partnership, which is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life and economic development of Downtown Orlando, to help promote IZEAFest.

Social Media Trailblazer Captures Honors with Fun, Autobiographical Documentary On Its Start-Up Days

ORLANDO, FL (May 12, 2008) - IZEA, the world's largest social marketing network, today announced that its popular reality video series "RockStartup" was awarded "Best of Category" by the Horizon Interactive Awards. The honor was received in the Video-Documentary/Short Film category. "RockStartup" is an online video series that records the whirlwind journey that captures the promise, the perils, the pressure, the pain and the pitfalls of launching an Internet startup.

IZEA has produced 45 episodes that include a chronicle of the efforts behind launching its new flagship service, SocialSpark, a first-of-its-kind, advertiser focused social network that re-invents the way online marketers identify and empower brand advocates, and the way bloggers monetize their content. Viewers can find episodes of RockStartup at www.rockstartup.com, iTunes, YouTube, Blip.tv, Brightcove, Dailymotion, Ning, and on the IZEA community blog.

"Starting and funding a new technology company is an experience unlike any other," said Ted Murphy, "RockStar" and CEO of IZEA. "RockStartup series gives people a real, meaningful 'backstage pass' to the ups, the downs, the excitement, the stress, and the absolutely crazed pace that goes into building a successful venture."

The series is recorded by an in-house video production team and offers a candid, unscripted, fun, and sometimes controversial peek into all aspects of IZEA, from the pressure and complexities of raising capital to the practicalities of finding new office space. Episodes periodically change perspective, so viewers can see events from the viewpoint of the CEO, the sales department, technology development, and even customers.

IZEA was also won a Silver award in the "BLOG" category for the IZEA company blog.

The Horizon Interactive Awards is a prestigious international competition recognizing outstanding achievement among interactive media producers. The awards have been awarded annually since 2002 and cover several varying categories of digital media. Each year, horizon receives hundreds of entries from all over the world, and the entries are reviewed by a panel of industry professionals. Entries are given either a Gold, Silver, or Bronze award, and in some cases honorable mentions. Select winners of Gold awards are eligible for the Best of Category award.

Agency Bootcamp™ to focus on social media strategies and provide attendees with direct access to top industry executives

CHICAGO, IL (April 16, 2008) Five of the top players in social media announced today that they have joined together to create Agency Bootcamp™, a two-hour interactive conversation for brands and advertising agencies that are interested in optimizing their efforts in the large and growing universe of social media. The seminar will be moderated by Michael Brito, social media manager at Intel, and will include executives from Bebo, CafeMom, Facebook, MySpace, and IZEA.

The event will provide brands and advertising agencies with practical knowledge and experience from today's top social networks. Topics to be discussed include the makeup of a successful social media campaign, common misconceptions and mistakes ("dos and don'ts"), suggestions on how to maximize the ROI for social media campaigns, and a brief look at the future of social media. The session will revolve largely around an open question and answer format, where attendees can ask questions to panel members.

"Social media is experiencing explosive growth," said Ted Murphy, IZEA's Chief Executive Officer. "As part of that growth, the landscape is continually evolving, and new and exciting opportunities are consistently emerging for brands and advertising agencies. Agency Bootcamp is a place where the industry leaders can gather together, share ideas, and convey what we've learned about these opportunities in an open, concise fashion."

In addition to Mr. Murphy, executives scheduled to attend Agency Bootcamp include Tom Arrix, vice president of sales for Facebook; Bryce Emo, senior vice president of branded sales for MySpace; Kent Austermann, sales director at Bebo; and Andrew Shue, co-founder of CaféMom.

"We believe this is going to be a very valuable and instructive event, and at the same time a rare chance get direct one-one access to some of the minds that literally built, and continue to shape, the entire social media industry," added Murphy.

The seminar, free to pre-registered attendees, will be held in Chicago on May 21, 2008 at Maggiano's Little Italy, 516 North Clark Street, and will run from noon through 2pm. Lunch will be provided. Spacing is limited and is on a first-come first-serve basis.

Additional information about the event, along with registration instructions, can be found at www.agencybootcamp.com

ABOUT BEBO Bebo is the next generation social networking service where members can stay in touch with their College friends, connect with friends, share photos, discover new interests and just hang out. The people who work at Bebo have learned a lot about what makes social networks fun, and believe that with Bebo they've taken social networking to the next level.

ABOUT CAFEMOM Launched in November 2006, CaféMom.com is the largest and fastest growing social networking site for moms. Moms are connecting on shared interests, challenges, and local communities. They have set-up approximately 40,000 groups on diverse topics such as pregnancy, politics, dieting, autism, and favorite TV shows

ABOUT FACEBOOK Founded in February 2004, Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people's real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a part of millions of people's lives and half of the users return daily.

ABOUT MYSPACE MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. By integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums, MySpace has created a connected community. As the first ranked web domain in terms of page views (*), MySpace is the most widely-used and highly regarded site of its kind and is committed to providing the highest quality member experience. MySpace will continue to innovate with new features that allow its members to express their creativity and share their lives, both online and off. MySpace's international network includes localized community sites in the United States, France, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden, Latin America, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Fox Interactive Media is a division of News Corp.

IZEA, the world's largest social marketing network, today unveiled SocialSpark(TM), a first-of-its-kind advertiser focused social network that re-invents the way online marketers identify and empower brand advocates, and the way bloggers monetize their content.

SocialSpark provides advertisers with a social media marketing hub to research and execute their marketing activities across niche blogs or large blog networks from a single dashboard. Advertisers can utilize the platform to effectively reach the highly fragmented longtail of the blogoshpere, tapping into IZEA's growing network of more than 150,000 bloggers and over 16,000 advertisers.

"Just as Google unlocked tremendous direct marketing value with AdWords, SocialSpark offers the only comprehensive solution for targeting, transacting and tracking social media marketing across a vast network of publishers," said Ted Murphy, founder of IZEA. "We have taken 'word of mouth' advertising - the kind that happens every day between people who share common interests - to a brand new level, and in a way that directly benefits both advertisers and bloggers."

With SocialSpark, advertisers can access traffic and demographic data previously unavailable to them in the blogoshpere, while simultaneously bypassing the exorbitant research and cost customarily associated with such valuable targeting. Blogs are read by millions of readers who share common interests and brand passions, and empowering bloggers represents a huge value proposition to advertisers. SocialSpark is the first network where these groups can quickly, easily and cost-effectively find each other and create value while simultaneously protecting the integrity of blog content.

"Although there has been plenty of hype around social media, the traffic and click-throughs can be hit-or-miss without visibility and tracking," added Michael Brito, Intel Social Media Marketing Manager. "With SocialSpark's open analytics platform, advertisers can see the actual traffic and demographics of blogs they sponsor or a vertical network of blogs they sponsor. Combining that visibility with the astronomical 5-10 percent click-through-rate typical of sponsored posts, positions SocialSpark as the premier dashboard for social media marketing."

Advertisers and bloggers can register for free at SocialSpark.com to create online, searchable public profiles. Advertisers are encouraged to provide information about their product or service, and bloggers can share information about themselves, their readers and their blog content. Registered users can search for complimentary matches, interact with each other, create networks, issue ratings, send messages, and ultimately capitalize on shared interests. Bloggers and advertisers can assess blog "influence" by tracking visits, pages views, and demographic information about their readership. Advertisers can monitor automated campaign CPC and CPM data as well as the buzz surrounding their brands across the blogosphere.

Along with the development of the marketplace, SocialSpark has created the gold-standard for social media marketing integrity and disclosure. With SocialSpark, there are no tone restrictions on sponsored posts; that is, payment is never conditioned on delivering a positive post or review. Likewise, all sponsored posts carry both human and machine-readable disclosure, via 100 percent in-post disclosure badges and 100 percent "no-follow" tags on any advertiser-requested links.

"SocialSpark's disclosure requirements exceed the WOMMA-approved Code of Ethics for human disclosure and the Google-approved quality guidelines for machine disclosure," said Murphy. "In fact, SocialSpark offers the industry's only audit tool for advertisers needing to manage social marketing disclosure in accordance with corporate, government, industry or search engine disclosure guidelines."

IZEA and SocialSpark can be found at ad:tech San Francisco April 15-16 at the Moscone Center in booth # 6163.

Over 300,000 Voters Select Their Favorites in World’s Largest Fan-Based Blog Competition; Winners in 37 Categories Revealed at Las Vegas Ceremony

ORLANDO, FL - (November 28, 2007) - The Blogger’s Choice Awards, the world’s largest fan-determined blog competition, has announced the winners of its inaugural awards contest. Winning blog sites were recognized during a gala awards ceremony held November 10, 2007 at the PostieCon 2007 bloggers convention in Las Vegas.

The 2007 Blogger’s Choice Awards was a landmark for the blogging community, attracting more than 14,000 blog nominations splitting more than 300,000 votes. Blogs under consideration in the Blogger’s Choice Awards were nominated by the fans themselves; readers were able to vote for as many blogs as they wished, in multiple categories, as long as they adhered to the competition’s rules and regulations. The competition spawned a number of global grassroots promotional efforts, as readers campaigned for their favorite blogs.

Disruptive New Social Marketing Network Connects Advertisers and Bloggers in New Ways; Community, Transparency, Openness and Measurability Drive Development

ORLANDO, FL - (November 12, 2007) - Social media pioneer IZEA, Inc. today announced SocialSpark™, a new property within its social media centric portfolio that revolutionizes the way advertisers can engage with bloggers and their social graph. SocialSpark represents the world's first Social Marketing Network, combining the attributes of a modern social network with a next generation online advertising platform, targeted at a community of bloggers and other content creators.

"SocialSpark is a quantum leap forward for IZEA and the over 85,000 bloggers and 11,000 advertisers we already serve," said Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA. "We have taken our highly successful PayPerPost model and flipped it inside out, creating a completely new model for social media advertising that extends beyond sponsored posts and opens up a wealth of new opportunities. In many ways we are disrupting our own disruptor."