Company Launches With Support From Alloy Ventures and Broad Array of Content Partners

SAN FRANCISCO (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) March 18, 2008 -- LightPole, Inc., a mobile application service provider focused on the “Long Tail” publishing market, today announced availability of the LightPole Publishing System, a complete solution that enables publishers, bloggers and other content providers to distribute content to mobile devices, and engage those users in two-way communication.

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“The next great revolution in communication will take place on the screens of mobile phones,” said Doug Klein, CEO of LightPole. “The emergence of smart devices, true Web 2.0 services and a suitable network infrastructure has allowed LightPole to be at the forefront of an economic disruption in mobile much like what happened with the Web years ago. LightPole’s end-to-end publishing system makes it easy for everyone – from content publishers to mobile phone users themselves – to participate.”

As a part of LightPole’s introduction, the company also announced a Series A round of financing lead by Alloy Ventures. Alloy’s early-stage investment will be used largely for business development and product marketing efforts.

“Each year we invest in a small number of entrepreneurial ideas and young companies,” said John Shoch, partner at Alloy Ventures. “LightPole made the cut by being diligent in developing its technology first and then proving to us through clear differentiation and early adopter engagements that the market conditions exist for real success.”

Shoch will join the LightPole board of directors, along with Klein and Bill Carrico (founder of Bridge Communications, Network Computing Devices, Precept and Packet Design).

Content from Leading Web Publishers

LightPole enables publishers to easily extend the content they already have to reach new markets and build new communities, providing mobile device users with unprecedented access to a wealth of real-time information about what they care about, where they are. The service supports a variety of business models, including subscriptions, transactions and advertising. Publishers can configure their offerings to allow readers to post comments, share links, and meet online. No special programming or expensive IT investments are required. LightPole launches with eight third-party solutions built on its new mobile infrastructure, from partners including:

• Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) – leveraging the published application programming interface (API), LightPole automatically provides Yahoo!Local content to all mobile device users through a channel provided at account set-up; LightPole also intends to be a leading developer of Yahoo!’s recently announced Fire Eagle, a service that allows anyone to share their location with sites and services online
• Yelp! (www.yelp.com) – is a site where people write reviews about local businesses; LightPole has used its API to integrate local Yelp! information with the LightPole mobile experience by having consumers text GETYELP to 41411 or going to get.lightpole.net/yelp
• Platial (www.platial.com) – a free online mapping resource where millions of people around the world share and discover all kinds of places now enables mobility of its user maps through LightPole
• MappyHour (www.mappyhour.com) – an interactive bar guide that shares Happy Hour locations throughout the world can now bring that content direct to your mobile device from the LightPole application downloadable from the MappyHour site
• HotSpotr (www.hotspotr.com) – the online service that identifies laptop-friendly locations with free WiFi, complete with a user rating system providing critical information such as availability of power outlets, can now bring that content direct to your mobile device from the LightPole application downloadable from the HotSpotr site
• Heyday Books (www.heydaybooks.com) – is a nonprofit organization that specializes in books and other educational projects that foster an understanding of the history, literature, art, environment, social issues, and culture of California and the West; the book Gables and Fables, a portrait of San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood,is now available as a mobile channel through LightPole and via a download from their site
• Bathroom Diaries (www.thebathroomdiaries.com) – the world’s largest database of restroom locations now enables mobility of its content through LightPole
• Zvents (www.zvents.com) – the local search engine for discovering things to do, places to go and people to see – anytime and anywhere – now enables mobility of its content through LightPole

For more insight on the benefits of LightPole integration, please visit www.lightpole.net/press/press-quotes.html for a collection of partner quotes. Over the coming months, the number of third-party LightPole solutions is expected to expand substantially.

LightPole already supports hundreds of models of mobile phones, including Blackberry, Motorola, Nokia, and most phones from leading carries such as AT&T, Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile as well as the Blackberry on Verizon. LightPole continues to add support for new phones all the time. For more information, or to get LightPole on your phone, please visit www.lightpole.net.

About LightPole

LightPole’s mission is to make it easy for content owners to distribute location-specific information to mobile devices and to engage mobile users – now counted in hundreds of millions – in interactive communities. Founded in January 2007, LightPole is headquartered in San Francisco and has a development center in China.

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