Awesome New Site and Helping Nie

I have a couple of friends (Amy and Kristin) that just launched an awesome website called Speek. I have taken bits from both of Amy's and Kristin's blog to give you a little more insight on what Speek is and how it works:

FROM AMY'S BLOG:
Speek is based around the idea that advertising should be a conversation. Scott (the guy behind the great idea) one day had just had enough with all of the wasteful junk mail, lame TV spots and obnoxious banner ads that were always surrounding him. He started thinking that advertising should be something more: something that not only actually made sense for the people viewing it but that also gave something back to them and the communities that they live in. Rather than just complaining about it (my usual stance), he then actually came up with a beautifully simple idea that solved several of the biggest challenges facing advertising. And Kristin, Jenna and I (along with several other really great people) have been working like crazy since then to help Scott make this awesome idea a reality.

So, how does Speek work?

1. People come to speekback.com and sign up for a free account. In this account, they create a profile about their interests.

2. They then get access to an online viewer where they receive advertising for things that are actually interesting to them (so, for example, I might get an ad for a discount on a new "So You Think You Can Dance"sheet set-- stuff like that).

3. For every ad the member views, they get $.05 and a partnering non-profit organization of their choice gets $.05 too. So, not only are you getting information that you actually might find useful, you're also getting some of the benefit for your time and helping to support the causes or groups you believe in at the same time.

4. As people share Speek with their family and friends, they also get money for each ad that anyone that they invite views. Even if you just invite a few people and view a few ads, it all adds up pretty quickly to cover your gas money or, in my case, your Bugles money (come on-- you know that crunchy salty amazingness is pretty much impossible to resist).

5. Advertisers then have a way to interact with people that would be interested in their products without filling our mailboxes and landfills with wasteful junk that doesn't work for anyone involved. So, the whole process is better for everyone involved.

FROM KRISTIN'S BLOG:
As many of you may know, Stephanie Nielsen (read updates on Nie here) and her husband were involved in a plane crash earlier this year and we have partnered with them to raise money for Nie.

If any of you are interested in helping raise money, just sign up and select Nie Recovery as your beneficiary. Then, Nie and her family will get money for every ad you view. By just viewing a few ads a day (and only spending a few minutes of your time) you can help. Pass it along to any friends who may want to help, too. I really love this part of my job because it's the first time that I feel like a company I work for is actually helping people I care about.

So, isn't that site just awesome! Sign up, get paid and raise money for Nie!

I am really proud of Amy and Kristin, they have worked really hard on this!

One more exclamation mark!

One more!