"The phenomenal growth of social networks has lead many groups to attempt to communicate and connect with their members through existing social networking sites, in the process, learning that the experience does little for the group. With today's launch of Groupsites, groups are now able to share, communicate and network without losing control of their brand, privacy or members," said Clarence Wooten, founder and CEO of CollectiveX.

Introducing Groupsites:

CollectiveX-powered Groupsites combine the best features of discussion forums, email lists, calendars and social networks. They tailor and integrate these features in a way that addresses the differing communication and privacy needs of groups small and large. Additionally, members are provided with a single login and dual profile personas (social and professional) for use across multiple Groupsites.

Sonja Williams, Chief Marketing Officer of CollectiveX stated, "Many individuals are growing frustrated with having to create multiple profiles and login credentials across multiple social networking sites. CollectiveX-powered Groupsites enable them to control their professional and social networking experience within any Groupsite that they create or join."

Clarence Wooten, a noted serial entrepreneur, introduced ''ready-made websites to go'' to the Internet in 1999 with ImageCafe.com, which was acquired 7 months after it launched for more then $20 million that same year by Network Solutions/VeriSign, envisions Groupsites as the Web 2.0 equivalent of websites.

"Websites provided a one-way communication experience. Groupsites provide far more," said Wooten. "Going beyond, photos, videos and comments Groupsites enable groups to interact in a way that maintains their identity and purpose," he explains.

Regardless of the type of group: social or professional, or whether the group seeks to connect privately, or publicly for others to join, Groupsites maximize the group experience. Groupsites also provide further context to your connections through the use of endorsements and kudos -- understanding that everyone's not your "friend."

Free to setup and extremely easy to use: individuals, membership organizations, and companies have already created close to 7,000 CollectiveX-powered Groupsites.

Companies are using Groupsites to connect within departments, intranets and workgroups. Membership organizations and clubs are using Groupsites to replace email lists and empower member-to-member networking. Groupsites are also being used to build community around interests, products, publications and families.

To bring increased exposure to public CollectiveX-powered Groupsites, today CollectiveX is also announcing its launch of the Groupsites Directory, located at http://www.groupsites.com

The Business Model:

CollectiveX offers three options for Groupsites. Anyone can set up a free Groupsite which includes everything groups need to share, network and communicate, while giving groups the ability to upgrade "a la carte" to premium options when and if they need them. Premium features include: removal and control advertisements, enhanced security and permission controls, increased storage capacity, and self-serve branding options.

For organizations seeking to organize and manage multiple full-featured Groupsites under a single account, or provide enhanced support for large Groupsites with substantial members, CollectiveX Enterprise Edition provides these groups with enhanced support, a dedicated account representative, simplified billing, and expanded file storage.

In addition to the thousands of small social and informal groups, Groupsites are being used by large enterprise groups including: Accenture BeLux (corporate alumni), The Nature Conservancy (internal volunteer and workgroups), Baltimore County Public Schools (internal workgoups), the American Chemical Society, and more.

What Users Are Saying:

"CollectiveX Groupsites fall somewhere between Yahoo Groups and a white-label Facebook." - Farhan Rehman

"Groupsites are like Microsoft Sharepoint, but are much cooler and far more user-friendly." - Jeff Mason, VP Marketing, Social Solutions

About CollectiveX:

Founded in late 2005 and launched in May 2006 by serial technology entrepreneur, Clarence Wooten, CollectiveX is a hosted platform for the creation of Groupsites. CollectiveX is funded by Wooten, a small group of angel investors, and the State of Maryland DBED. CollectiveX is on a run rate to become cash flow positive by the 4th quarter and anticipates rising its Series A financing in the near future.