Hoover's Redefines Social Networking for the Professional Market with Official Launch of Hoover's Connect
Launch Coincides with Hoover's Acquisition of Visible Path
AUSTIN, Texas--(Business Wire)--Hoover's, Inc. (http://www.hoovers.com) today announced the
official launch of Hoover's Connect - a powerful business networking
tool that helps users get introduced to and establish relationships
with targeted prospects. This launch coincides with Hoover's agreement
to acquire Visible Path, the company that had been powering Hoover's
Connect Beta for the past year. The financial terms of the deal are
not disclosed.
Hoover's Connect has only been available in Beta on Hoover's free
site until today, and will now give Hoover's subscribers comprehensive
business insight along with professional social networking, to provide
the fastest path to business. Unlike other social networking services,
Hoover's Connect provides an effective, non-intrusive way for its
users to connect to a person through someone the prospect may already
have a strong relationship with, and who is therefore best suited to
make that introduction.
Hoover's Connect is easy to use. When the user goes to a
particular Hoover's company record and clicks the "Connect" button,
various referral paths appear that highlight the strongest path within
that user's network. The service allows users to build their networks
actively by inviting colleagues to join, as well as passively, through
an Outlook plug-in that applies unique social networking algorithms to
automatically rate relationship strength.
What distinguishes Hoover's Connect from other professional
business networking tools is its ability to identify users' strongest
relationships by evaluating their Outlook systems such as e-mail and
calendars. The service then assesses the strength of those connections
and rates them accordingly, all while maintaining customer privacy.
Hoover's Connect lets users evaluate in advance the potential of a
particular networking opportunity and tailor communications
accordingly, ultimately enhancing the success of online relationship
building.
"Hoover's Connect keeps me in touch with past and current
colleagues and allows me to build a network of new relationships that
are relevant to my industry and experiences," said Andy Sweis, senior
business intelligence analyst for PepsiCo, Inc. "The technology
searches both my information and that of my colleagues to establish
new relationships based on appropriate matches. Hoover's Connect saves
me time and effort by eliminating the need to search manually for
connections that might help form new, beneficial business
relationships."
Because of Hoover's Connect's premium privacy settings, the user
has full control over what is and is not searched; a user's e-mail
content is never viewed or scanned. This level of privacy is essential
and means that users have full control over who to invite into their
network and to whom they want to grant others access within their
network. Users have the option to either stay cloaked or identify
themselves.
"The combination of the underlying technology with the weighting
mechanisms and privacy considerations make Hoover's Connect a leap
beyond anything currently offered by either social networking or other
business information services," said Hoover's president David Mather.
"It is the first offering to integrate insight about who to contact
with the tools to act on that insight, all from one location, without
interrupting workflow, and while still protecting and preserving the
privacy of users and end targets."
Research from the University of Chicago and University of North
Carolina business schools has shown that an introduction made through
a trusted source is up to 16 times more likely to yield a response
than a cold call. With individuals' professional networks growing at
breakneck speeds through online tools and services, Hoover's sees the
potential for leveraging those expanding networks and creating a
business tool for unlocking the potential that exists in their
employees' personal and professional networks.
"This is a coming-of-age announcement for B2B social networking
that helps move it from a novelty to an everyday revenue-building
sidekick," according to Chuck Richard, Outsell, Inc. Vice President
and Lead Analyst. "This sales companion finally unites the tasks of
discovering 'who's crucial to your sale' with 'how to get them to
answer your call'. What's especially interesting is how Hoover's
Connect taps such rich company insights and interlocking webs
of network connections while also protecting your privacy
with extensive controls on who gets access to what."
For a demonstration of how Hoover's Connect works, click here
(http://www.hooversconnect.com).
Hoover's Connect incorporates professional social networking
technology developed with the intent to provide large enterprises with
the automated data gathering, privacy and analysis that they require.
While Hoover's Connect is specifically designed for individuals, it
includes Visible Path's enterprise-tested features as well as new
features that let individuals sign up for free online, download an
Outlook plug-in and start building their networks within the context
of Hoover's.
About Hoover's, Inc.
Hoover's, a D&B company, provides its customers the fastest path
to business with insightful information about companies, industries
and key decision makers, along with the powerful tools to find and
connect to the right people to get business done. Hoover's provides
this information for sales, marketing, business development, and other
professionals who need intelligence on U.S. and global companies,
industries, and the people who lead them. Hoover's unique combination
of editorial expertise and one-of-a-kind data collection with
user-generated and company-supplied content gives customers a
360-degree view and competitive edge. This information, along with
powerful tools to search, sort, download and integrate the content, is
available through Hoover's (http://www.hoovers.com), the company's
premier online service. Hoover's is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
Hoover's, Inc., Austin
Lisa Glass, 512-374-4662
lglass@hoovers.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
