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TouchLocal: Why Yell or Poke when you can Touch?; Social Networking Gets Serious At New Local Business Listings Website, www.touchlocal.com(M2 PressWIRE Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) RDATE:21012008 London -- TouchLocal (www.touchlocal.com) is the UK's fastest growing local business website that combines powerful local business search with practical social networking capabilities, giving consumers unparalleled levels of choice and trust. As people tire of trivial social networking applications, TouchLocal offers consumers a better way of choosing local goods and services while businesses can benefit from targeted, cost-effective internet advertising campaigns. Using its custom "Circles" social networking engine, TouchLocal users put other members into circles of trust that are graphically represented on screen. For example, a sibling or close friend is likely to be in the highest circle of trust whereas a colleague or acquaintance may be in another circle. These circles then combine to give users both expert knowledge and increased confidence in choosing the local companies they want to work with. "There's no substitute for local knowledge, but in the Web 2.0 era, trust has become the key differentiator," explains Tamer Ozmen, CEO of TouchLocal. "As printed directories are replaced with on-line versions, consumers need to know the information they are looking at is genuine and trustworthy. Review websites don't completely solve this problem as it's hard to ensure third party opinion is genuine. TouchLocal solves this with its unique Circles social networking application which puts trust at the heart of every interaction between members." Built out of an established online business directory - which currently covers 114 UK cities and attracts 18 million visitors a year - the site will launch with 2.4 million UK businesses already listed. With so much content in place, TouchLocal offers businesses of all sizes significant benefits over other internet advertising models. Unlike simple on-line directories, companies listed on TouchLocal can update and extend their entries free of charge including current information on pricing, stock and other offers. With user-generated reviews and recommendations being added at the rate of 5,000 per month and an estimated 136,000 registered users on launch, Ozmen believes TouchLocal offers companies the most targeted and cost effective internet advertising opportunity out there. "Facebook fatigue is already setting in. Traditional social networking sites lack the new level of practicality that TouchLocal brings to a well known and understood concept. We anticipate great interest in our service from both end-users and companies keen to realize greater return from their online advertising investments." Investment firm Balderton Capital - the leading Venture Capital firm behind on-line success stories such as Betfair and Bebo - has invested GBP7m into TouchLocal, illustrating its belief in this new practical networking model. TouchLocal has a workforce of 100+ which belies its start-up heritage. The Guardian newspaper recently named TouchLocal as a hot UK company to watch while The Financial Times wrote about the unique business model of being both a local business directory and social network site. Concludes Ozmen: "The success achieved in the on-line directory and business search market provides a strong platform for the launch of the practical community networking site. Our in-house team of developers has created an application that is both simple to use and engaging, giving users a reason to return to the site as well as to recommend to friends." Notes to Editor About touchlocal.com touchlocal.com is the UK's fastest growing local business search website that combines a powerful search tool with practical social networking capabilities. The site attracts over 2 million unique users per month and an estimated 18 million unique visitors annually. touchlocal.com lets real people review, rate and recommend local businesses and services enabling consumers to make informed choices based on trusted user-generated content. Using bespoke "Circles" social networking mode, touchlocal.com allows users to rank family, friends and others according to their level of influence and trust. These circles are graphically represented on-screen allowing users to quickly and easily search for trusted businesses across the UK. touchlocal.com is backed by Balderton Capital, the leading Venture Capital Firm About Balderton Capital Balderton Capital is one of Europe's largest venture capital firms, committed to finding and helping talented entrepreneurs build great companies. Based in London, it manages approximately USD 1.5 billion in committed venture capital. Since 2000, Balderton has invested in over 70 companies across a wide variety of technology sectors and geographies, including the UK, mainland Europe, the US and China. Notable investments include Betfair (online betting exchange), Bebo (leading social networking site), Codemasters (developer and publisher of innovative video games), Habbo Hotel (teen social networking site), Payzone (Europe's largest payment-processing network) and Setanta Sports (European sports pay-tv broadcaster). 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