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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Andover, MA – Oct. 10, 2006 – Helium (www.helium.com), the community-created reference where you can find insight and share knowledge, debuted today, unveiling a new way for consumers to read, write, and rate information on topics ranging from pet care to personal finance. Helium encourages consumers who are passionate about a topic to explore their interest by reading insight provided by others. Consumers can also share their experiences by writing articles or suggesting new topics to the community. The web site even enables those who write to act as armchair critics, reviewing the work of others, ensuring quality by leveraging the power of peer-review.

At Helium, writers are invited to compare one article to another to decide which is best. The relevance of all submissions for a particular topic is determined through an iterative process where many “A versus B” comparisons are made by many people. The result is a sorted list of the best articles on any subject, written from multiple viewpoints. It is a gold mine of insight for the information-seeker as well as an ideal outlet for writers.

“The potential for user-contributed content will go unrealized until that content can be organized for easy browsing and finding, said John Blossom, President of Shore Communications, a leading management consulting firm. “Helium has created a way to rank content that balances the opinions of authorities and the opinions of a user community. Community members compare one article to another to decide which is best, to drive quality to the top of a topic through a fair and democratic process.”

Consumers go online daily by the millions to find answers to common questions such as what features to look for in a product or how to best accomplish a task based on experience. Subjective topics such as these are best addressed by real people. Search engines, while helpful, force the user to review a list of links. Community sites such as Yahoo! Answers® do not offer the organization needed to make finding insight quick or easy, and reference sites such as Wikipedia® offer one homogenized viewpoint that is only achieved through contributors overwriting one another.

“Helium is different because it takes the chaos of user-contributed content and orders it with a trusted ranking system that dramatically improves the quality and accessibility of collective wisdom for the knowledge-seeker,” said Mark Ranalli, President and CEO of Helium. “At Helium, multiple quality responses to conversational subjects such as ‘Which Aruba resort is better?’, or ‘Tips for buying antique furniture’ are provided in rank order, making it simple to efficiently consider more than one perspective.”

Helium is powered by people through more than just peer-review. Helium is a live reference where content is contributed by consumers who also receive recognition and reward for their efforts. “Helium is a fun place for me to write because it supplies an instant audience. I enjoy watching the articles I submit rise in the rankings, and I think the feedback I receive helps me hone my writing skills,” said Susan Nagy, a 53-year-old grandmother and avid Helium contributor. “I like the fact that Helium is not driven by a ‘popularity contest’ like other sites.It also offers me the opportunity to earn some money for what I enjoy doing.”

With unlimited topics in 23 categories now available, Helium offers an opportunity for just about anyone to write and be read.

 

Find Insight Fast at Helium, a Reference Where Multiple Points of View Improve Decision Making

About Helium
Helium is where knowledge rules. Introduced in 2006, Helium is a live reference created by consumers, for consumers. It is the first to combine user-contributed content with the ordering capabilities of a peer-review ranking system to make it easy for consumers to gain insight quickly from subjective content. Helium is a fun and addictive place for people who are passionate about a topic to write and be heard. Helium is a community where you can read, write and rate articles on a broad range of topics. Try it now at http://www.helium.com.

Press Contacts:

• Liz Bradley
• Kel & Partners
• P: 857.891.5531
• E: liz@kelandpartners.com