Brightkite Releases the Next Generation of its Popular Real-time Social Discovery Service

Brightkite 2.0 features dramatic increase in PlaceSnappingTM effectiveness, new
friend and privacy models, and enhanced stream filtering
BURLINGAME, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Brightkite, the Real-time Social Discovery Service, today announced the public
availability of the latest version of its popular geosocial application.
Brightkite 2.0 includes dozens of major new features focused on giving users
total control over how their content is shared, as well as tools for filtering
and organizing their friends` content.

Available today on the Web and all Web-enabled mobile phones, Brightkite 2.0 now
includes:

* A New Friend Model: Brightkite users were finding their friend lists getting
mighty long. When someone asked to be your friend, it was rude to say no, but
that meant users were suddenly friends with all sorts of folks they didn`t
really know. Brightkite 2.0 solves the problem the same way we all do in the
real world, by letting each individual decide who their friends are. It`s that
simple. People can choose to be your fan, but only you can decide if they are a
friend. Just because you invite me to your party, doesn`t mean I have to invite
you to mine.
* Privacy Settings for the Real World: With 2.0, Brightkite built a new,
sophisticated and simple way to manage your privacy. Each time you post, you
decide who sees your post, all in one click. Do you want it to be seen by just
your friends or by everyone? Do you want to send the post to Twitter or
Facebook? You decide, every time you post. Brightkite even made it possible to
post with no location at all.
* Streams to Order: As Brightkite grows, people`s friend and local streams are
filling with more and more posts, which was making it hard for users to find the
best, most relevant stuff. Brightkite 2.0 includes a new way to manage streams
so you can customize the people, locations and type of posts you want to see, on
the fly. Brightkite even added a free search so you can filter the stream on any
keyword you wish.
* Enhanced PlaceSnapping©: Brightkite users now get 70 percent more accurate
place results. Every place search now uses the Brightkite patent pending
PlaceSnapping technology to deliver these more accurate results more than 30
percent faster than before. This reduces the time to make a post by almost half,
allowing users to have more fun with their friends, not their handsets.
* Improved Scalability: Brightkite`s growth meant that its first release
architecture was approaching the end of its lifespan. Brightkite 2.0 features a
reengineered back-end that will support significant future growth. For the user,
this means uninterrupted service and a maintained user experience.

With almost five million members worldwide and two million active monthly users,
Brightkite is one of the world`s most popular mobile social applications. People
use Brightkite in real-time to see what their friends are up to, browse profiles
of people around them, see what are the hot places, post photos and notes to the
places they visit, all while maintaining comprehensive control over privacy.

"The Brightkite community is passionate about the service and our latest version
was built based on users` feedback of how to make a social service work better
in the real world, including how to structure friendships and how to organize
and view posts," said Jonathon Linner, Brightkite`s CEO. "We also listened to
users regarding how to build practical privacy controls in Brightkite that work
in all social situations. These features are all geared toward helping
Brightkite users share more face time and have more fun."

To use Brightkite 2.0, visit www.brightkite.com

A new iPhone and iPod Touch app including all new 2.0 features has been
submitted to the Apple App store.

About Brightkite

Things are happening, right here, right now. Use Brightkite to meet people
around you, keep up with your friends, explore and discover new places.
Brightkite is the real time social discovery network. More than two million
people use Brightkite`s free service every month, which is available to anyone,
anywhere, worldwide. All you need is a mobile phone or Web browser to bring your
friends together in the real world, wherever you may be.

The award-winning company is headquartered in Burlingame, California. To learn
more about using your phone as a social discovery tool, visit us at
www.brightkite.com

fama PR
Matt Flanagan, 617-758-4141
brightkite@famapr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009