Saw-You launch SMS service

Imagine being able to instantly text message the people in your social space by simply describing them. No names. No numbers. Now you can with Saw-You's Descriptive Instant Messaging service

Saw-You launch SMS service
Newly developed technology propels Saw-you into generation text

Glasgow - June, 2001 - Saw-You.com, the Glasgow based mobile internet service, which enables users to interact with others in their social space without the need for phone numbers or e-mail addresses has launched an SMS compatible version of the service.

The service that has just launched nationally is set to revolutionise the way people use their phones. It is the first truly innovative product to be developed for mobile internet and SMS. The new SMS launch means that the current texting phenomenon can be taken to the next stage, with Saw-you.com now allowing strangers to text each other without having the other persons phone number.

The major difference between the WAP and the SMS version is that the SMS version relies on the input of simple commands whereas the WAP version allowed message navigation via drop down menus. A list of commands can be sent via SMS to people such that they can easily store them. Initially the service will be free and the user will just pay the standard SMS cost to their network provider.

The development of the SMS service propels Saw-You.com into a huge potential market. With expectations of approximately 2 billion text messages sent per month in the UK by Summer 2001, the subscription and revenue forecasts of Saw-you.com are set to increase dramatically.

The Saw-you.com service allows users to interact immediately with other people in their social space, simply by describing them -- no names, no numbers!
Upon registration at http://www.saw-you.com users are required to enter their descriptive profile and social haunts after which they can contact and be contacted by other users in their own social environment. Using a process of data mining, Saw-you enables you to identify people in bars, clubs or wherever you are simply by describing them.

The new SMS interface, developed in-house by Saw-You.coms technical arm - Pulsion, allows users to update key details of their profile such as current location and to perform searches using an SMS compatible phone.

By simply describing the main characteristics of the person they want to contact and sending their SMS search/query to the Saw-you number, the user can ID the person in a couple of easy to follow steps. All search details are passed to Saw-yous Data Mining Server and the target user is identified using fuzzy logic. Multiple attributes can be entered in one SMS, so most searches can ID the target user with one simple message.
If there is more than one match the system will ask the sender to describe further characteristics about the person they are looking at. This additional search detail is added to the previous query. Once the target user has been identified, an Anonymous Message can be forwarded. At this point both users can SMS each other with complete confidentiality.

The Service also affords users the ability to update their own profiles while on the move. Users can edit their current location and Shirt Colour attributes by simply sending an SMS !! - making the service one of the first real Location Generative applications in this market space.

Mike Kinsella, CEO and co-founder of Saw-You.com commented,

With the addition of the SMS compatible service to Saw-You.com we are able to offer this exciting Service to the entire GSM market, effectively growing our target users by a factor of 20 overnight. There is a huge untapped potential for higher interactive services in the SMS market, in lieu of WAP penetration, we are confident that the service will be a huge success. The location generative aspect of the service is both a ground-breaking and exciting development. In a market obsessed with location, we have opted to use the greatest Geo-locating device currently known to man: the human brain! The user simply SMSs their whereabouts. Again, Saw-you is offering young people out there a fun way to use their phones."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Martin Bramall
Velocity Communications - 020 7831 1312 / 07949 215177 or e-mail
martin@velocitypr.co.uk

Kate Lee
Velocity Communications -- 020 7831 1252 / 07780 684178 or e-mail
kate@velocitypr.co.uk

About Saw-You.com

Saw-You.com is a Glasgow based Mobile-Internet Company offering a unique social enhancement service through a host of digital platforms. The service, 'Descriptive Instant Messaging', utilises PC based Internet, mobile phone based Internet (WAP) and SMS applications which together enable users to meet and interact in their defined common social space without the need for phone numbers or email addresses.
Users are required to register their descriptive profile and regular social haunts after which they can contact, and be contacted by, other users in their own social environment. The users profile can be updated on-the-move using WAP so that their details and whereabouts can be kept up-to-date at all times.
Mike Kinsella (Chief Executive Officer) and John McGuire (Non-Executive Director) launched Saw-you.com in January 2001. Kinsella was previously a Senior Project Manager at Compaq Computers whilst McGuire also runs Pulsion Technology, an E-Commerce development company. First-round funding of nearly 1 Million was achieved as a result of which the company became part of the ITS group.
The site can be found at http://www.saw-you.com