Dorthy.com Opens Doors to New Dream Achievement Service with Alpha Launch

Harris Interactive®Survey Reveals Economic Conditions Inspire More People to Act
on Their Dreams
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Saber Seven today announced the Alpha launch of Dorthy.com, a new kind of online
achievement service that provides people with the content, tools, and
introductions they need to achieve their dreams.

The free online service reverses the traditional search process, continuously
filtering and focusing the universe of online content, to connect people to the
best stuff around their interests and aspirations - whether that`s running a
marathon, visiting the pyramids in Egypt, winning the battle against an illness,
or anything else.

People are looking for a way to turn dreams like these into reality and,
according to a Harris Interactive poll commissioned by Dorthy.com, not only do
almost all people have dreams, but they`re now turning to technology as a way to
achieve them. In fact, the survey also showed the highly-connected category of
young adults remains motivated to achieve their dreams but often perceive
obstacles to doing so. Dorthy.com aims to rectify that.

News Facts

* Central to the Dorthy.com experience, the site reverses the traditional search
experience in which a person searches repeatedly on a topic and then hunts for
relevant content in a linear process (see Graphic 1). Instead Dorthy.com allows
everyday people to set-up `dreampages` - or sharable, self-sustaining `living
search` pages on the topics they care about most. These pages each have custom
spiders that constantly filter and focus all the stuff available online (e.g.
professionally produced articles, user-generated videos, etc.) around what the
user really wants to achieve (see Graphic 3). Dreampages continually bring new
content to the user so he or she doesn`t need to repeat their search.
* Dorthy.com utilizes the social power of the web by allowing users to subscribe
to like-minded dreamers. Each dreampage essentially creates a support network
where users can leverage other people`s progress for their own discovery and
achievement (see video here).

* The service utilizes proprietary semantic reasoning, natural language
processing, and machine learning technologies to power its search capability to
better understand a user`s real interests and to help them achieve their goals.
For advertisers, Dorthy.com allows branded content to be integrated into the
experience. This integration utilizes "concepts" rather than key words. For
example, a user seeking advice on running their first marathon could benefit
from sponsored content from an apparel or footwear brand.
* Dorthy.com is not limited to the web; future releases will integrate mobility
and distribution to a variety of platforms.
* Dorthy.com has raised $4 million in total funding from various angel investors
since the company`s inception, including major investments from The Coyne Group.

* The company is led by an all-star team of executives including co-founder and
COO Jordan English Gross, the youngest-ever winner of the National ADDY award
for Interactive Communication among many other ad industry accolades; CTO Jim
Anderson, a co-founder of About.com and an expert in artificial intelligence,
natural language processing, and machine learning technologies with hundreds of
patents to his credit; and EVP of Public Affairs Will Burrington, founder of
AOL`s public affairs office and a delegate to the World Intellectual Property
Organization.

Survey Data

The survey commissioned by Dorthy.com and conducted by Harris Interactive polled
more than 2,000 adults in the U.S. ages 18+, asking how the U.S. population sets
and achieves their goals and dreams. Key findings include:

* 95% of women have dreams as compared to 91% for men.
* Of people aged 55+ with dreams, 77% of them use resources to achieve them with
31% turning to the Internet for help. When looking at younger adults (18-34),
83% use resources with 50% of that activity occurring online.
* Approximately 20% of younger adults (18-34) have increased motivation to
achieve their dreams given the current state of the economy.
* 89% of younger adults report having obstacles preventing them from achieving
their dreams while 12% of that group saying the primary obstacle is not knowing
where to start.
* 62% of younger adults want to talk to and connect with other people with whom
they share similar dreams but 36% find it difficult to find them.

Quotations

* "Everyone has dreams but many of us don`t know where to start or how to make
them happen. Dorthy.com was created as a starting point to make achieving or
learning about the stuff that`s important to you easier. The first result
includes our `living search` which is unlike anything on the web. We`re doing
everything we can to speed the process between discovery and achievement." --
Jordan English-Gross (@jordanenglish), Chief Operating Officer and Founder,
Dorthy.com and Saber Seven, Inc.
*
"Even in times of economic difficulty - especially in times of economic
uncertainty - dreams are necessary both for individuals to re-imagine their
future and for the economy as a whole to rebound. Dorthy.com is all about
helping people achieve those dreams." - Will Burrington, Executive Vice
President of Public Affairs, Dorthy.com and Saber Seven, Inc.

* "Part of what makes Dorthy.com so simple to the user is the sophistication of
the underlying technology, which unites natural language processing, machine
learning and semantic understanding as it`s never been done before. In short,
we`ve achieved something really challenging to make the user experience
refreshingly easy." - Jim Anderson, CTO, Dorthy.com and Saber Seven, Inc.
* "Even the best search technology shows a disconnect in consideration between
the publishers that create content and the audience that consumes it. And social
networks largely promote shared connections to those we already know. Dorthy.com
overcomes both shortcomings by mining individual behaviors from exogenous
populations and applying those insights to deliver the most relevant and
compelling content. By connecting us with people outside our existing circles,
Dorthy.com can share perspectives and wisdom that drive our own explorations in
new and interesting ways." - Randy Schwartz, VP, National Search Director, Carat

* "The magic of Dorthy.com is bringing the right brand content to the right
people, at a moment when people are emotionally invested in their pursuit.
That`s a powerful connection for both the brands and the users." - Alison
Provost, Chairman & CEO, TouchStorm (creators of Howdini)
* "The Internet has enabled us to find all sorts of things from rare books to
the nearest dry cleaner. The next step is to find, connect with and pursue the
things we're truly passionate about. Dorthy.com does that. It`s a great mission
and a great business." - Jon Bond,Co Founder / Co Chairman, kirshenbaum bond
senecal + partners
* "Harnessing computing and Internet technologies to really understand a
person`s goals and ambitions is a massive challenge. It`s also one that
Dorthy.com does better than any other web-based service out there. Not only does
Dorthy.com understand human beings, it delivers what human beings need to
achieve those goals. It`s a major leap forward." - David Brandt, Chief
Innovation Officer, OTX Research

Resources

* Website: www.dorthy.com
* Dorthy.com blog: www.blog.dorthy.com
* Dorthy.com on Twitter: www.twitter.com/doyourdreams
* Dorthy.com Vimeo Channel: www.vimeo.com/channels/dorthy

Tags

Search, Social Search, User-Enhanced Search, Natural Language Processing,
Content Aggregation, Social Bookmarking, Achievement Service

ABOUT THE SURVEY

The Harris Interactive survey was conducted online within the United States by
Harris Interactive on behalf of Dorthy.com between October 31 and November 4,
2008 among 2,256 U.S. adults ages 18+. This online survey is not based on a
probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can
be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables,
please contact info@harrisinteractive.com.

ABOUT DORTHY.COM

Dorthy.com is a new kind of achievement service that provides people with the
content, tools, and introductions they need to achieve their dreams. The free
online service reverses the traditional search process, continuously filtering
and focusing the universe of online content, to connect you to the best stuff
around your interest and aspirations. Incorporating social features like
following other`s dreams and resource sharing, Dorthy.com`s living search pages
are unlike anything else on the web. Visit www.dorthy.com to sign up for the
public alpha.

ABOUT SABER SEVEN, INC.

Saber Seven, Inc. is a media and technology company that`s dedicated to paving a
new paradigm in discovery and placing the tools for that discovery in the fabric
of everyday life. Visit www.saberseven.com for more information.

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Bite Communications
Ari Entin, 212-857-9399
ari.entin@bitepr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009