SOURCE: Wetpaint

June 06, 2007 08:00 ET

Wetpaint Adds OpenID and Google Analytics Support With Release of New Home Page

OpenID URL-Based User Authentication Standard Makes It Fast and Easy for Existing OpenID Users to Join Any of 400,000 Wetpaint Wiki Communities

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - June 6, 2007) - Wetpaint (www.wetpaint.com), the consumer-friendly Wiki for collaborating and publishing online, today announced platform support of OpenID, the open, decentralized framework for managing user identity online. Wetpaint joins companies like AOL, LiveJournal, Symantec, and Yahoo! that have announced support for OpenID as a means to help Internet users better manage their online identity across multiple websites.

"With an estimated 90 million users, OpenID is gaining adoption because it is simple, straightforward, and beneficial for consumers who want to manage multiple online accounts with a single ID," said Ben Elowitz, CEO of Wetpaint. "Wetpaint is excited to welcome OpenID users, who can now sign in with their OpenID credentials and start contributing to any of the over 400,000 Wetpaint Wiki communities."

The chief benefit of using OpenID is that it helps limit the number of IDs and passwords users have to manage and remember for websites they visit frequently. By supporting the OpenID standard, Wetpaint is facilitating access to its growing network of Wiki sites. Users who have an OpenID can sign in to any Wetpaint Wiki without having to establish a new username and password to contribute a comment about dog rescue, share a great joke, or follow their favorite NASCAR driver. OpenID users need only click "Sign Up" on any Wetpaint Wiki and type in their OpenID URL to begin tapping the power of collaborative thinking with Wetpaint. More information about standardization of OpenID is available at OpenID.net.

In addition to OpenID, Wetpaint also announced the availability of Google Analytics for site creators, unveiled a new home page, and added fun customization capabilities with a new font color picker.

--  Google Analytics: Added to help Wetpaint Wiki site creators understand
    how their site is performing, the free Google Analytics tracking and
    reporting capabilities allow users to easily track unique visits,
    pageviews, search phrases, visits, and refers.
--  New Wetpaint home page: The newly designed Wetpaint homepage makes it
    even easier to explore the variety of Wiki communities being created with
    Wetpaint every day. The new page spotlights some of the top contributors
    and most popular Wikis organized by category, including Entertainment,
    Technology, Sports & Recreation, and more.
--  New font color picker: Consumers can now adorn their Wetpaint pages by
    applying any color of the rainbow and beyond to their text -- it's just
    another great and easy way for consumers to customize their Wiki.
    

Wetpaint is changing the way people share and collaborate about passions and interests online through its consumer-friendly Wiki platform. For the first time, anyone who knows how to use Microsoft Word can use Wetpaint to click and type online. Wetpaint has powered more than 400,000 user-created community sites since the company's June 2006 launch. The Seattle startup has also caught the attention of prominent consumer brands such as ABC, BET, CBS, T-Mobile, and HTC. These companies have partnered with Wetpaint to create community sites for their most active and knowledgeable users. Wetpaint is backed by Accel Partners, Trinity Ventures, and Frazier Technology Ventures. For more information, visit www.wetpaint.com.