[February 28, 2013]

UpTo Expands with New Event Stream Publishing Platform

UpTo, the first company to integrate the calendar in to the exploding Social, Local, Mobile (SoLoMo) space, announced it has expanded its popular event stream platform, opening it up to allow any business or organization to create and publish their own event streams, offering a powerful, new way for organizations to unlock their calendar's social potential, for free.

UpTo allows users to curate a forward-looking feed that includes plans their friends are sharing, events from public streams they're following and the user's own calendar - all in one. With today's launch, any organization - whether a school, sports team, local business or college student group - can publish their calendar of events as a social and engaging stream that users can follow on UpTo. Organizations will also be able to embed their UpTo stream directly into any website, for a more dynamic and social alternative to static event pages.

"Our streams have generated incredible buzz for our initial partners. We saw an overwhelming demand from groups that wanted to leverage this same capability for themselves as well as from users wanting to follow more event streams for organizations they care about," said UpTo co-founder Greg Schwartz. "So, we've responded, with an open platform that lets anyone in the world create and publish social, interactive event streams for their audience for free."

More than 2,000 UpTo streams already span everything from sports schedules, movie releases and TV premieres, to concert venues and tech events, including public streams for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, Ticketmaster, Pure Michigan, Quicken Loans and thousands more. Users can choose which streams to follow based on their location, likes and interests. They can then tap 'I'm In' to save a stream event to their calendar and share it with friends, comment on events, share events to Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter, and view event details including a map and driving directions.

For example, organizations that will be at SXSW can create an UpTo stream of the events they'll be attending, which users can follow to help with their own planning and to see which parties their friends and coworkers will be at. In fact, Ford's "Team Detroit" Stream is already in place, providing the ultimate must-see agenda for Michiganders attending SXSW (News - Alert), and the "UpTo Takes Austin" Stream shows followers where the UpTo team will be throughout the event; stop by and introduce yourself for a free drink courtesy of UpTo.

The new stream publishing tools are part of UpTo's move to ramp up its platform and operations with an additional $1.5 million in second round funding from Detroit Venture Partners and Ludlow Ventures. UpTo will also use the follow-on funding to round out its executive team with key hires in marketing and business development, expand its partnership program and continue to build out its mobile and web platform.

"The social media era has been all about the 'now'-the breaking news at this very moment. UpTo is the first social app of its kind to take that evolution a step further by looking into the future to show you what you'll want to know about tomorrow, next week or next month," said Josh Linkner, CEO and Managing Partner of Detroit Venture Partners.

Unlike real-time check-ins on other social platforms, UpTo lets users see where their friends will be ahead of time, instead of where they've been. And, to make sure users never miss a thing, the UpTo timeline looks ahead instead of behind, with events moving up higher in their feed as they draw near.

The UpTo application is available for free for both iOS and Android (News - Alert) devices. To find out what's coming up with the people and organizations you care about, or learn more, visit www.upto.com or download UpTo directly from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

About UpTo

UpTo (www.upto.com) is the first social platform that gives users a window into the future, to see what's coming up for the people and organizations they care about. With native iOS and Android applications, UpTo lets users easily create, share and discover plans together. Developed by Rock City Apps, LLC and funded by Detroit Venture Partners and Ludlow Ventures, UpTo is based in Detroit, Mich. For more information, visit www.upto.com.

About Detroit Venture Partners

Detroit Venture Partners (www.detroitventurepartners.com) is a venture capital firm that invests in seed and early-stage technology companies with a strong emphasis on Detroit-based startups. In addition to capital, the company provides hands-on coaching, mentorship, support, and resources to help drive growth and success. The firm was founded in 2010 by Josh Linkner, Brian Hermelin and Dan Gilbert. By backing the next generation of Detroit entrepreneurs, DVP aims to create jobs, urban density, and hope. For more on Detroit Venture Partners, visit www.detroitventurepartners.com.

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