Service lets people activate their email address books to easily forward topically organized news and information, customized to their recipients` interests
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Oct 7, 2004--iCanvas.org launched today with a new communications service that encourages involvement in the political process via email. This month, the not-for-profit organization will ask thousands of people to activate their email address books through the iCanvas.org website, and embark on a mission to advance the flow of progressive political information. The founders of iCanvas are pioneers in privacy and spam control, and include Sunil Paul, founder of Brightmail, the leading anti-spam company, recently acquired by Symantec.
iCanvas.org`s service organizes relevant news and commentary from credible and trusted sources into seven key topic areas: National Security, Economy & Jobs, Health Care, Energy Independence, Homeland Security, Education and the Environment. The service gives individuals a streamlined means of sending personalized, issues-focused emails to dozens, hundreds, even thousands of friends, family and colleagues in just 15 minutes a week.
''This is a truly useful service,'' said Arianna Huffington, nationally syndicated columnist and author of 10 books, ''iCanvas.org puts the power of persuasion into the hands of the people. I encourage everyone to try it.''
Signing up as iCaptains, people upload their email address books to iCanvas.org with the help of a user-friendly wizard, and then invite their personal contacts to select the political issues about which they wish to receive emailed information. By organizing the latest political news by topics of interest, iCanvas.org makes it easy for iCaptains to provide their contacts with information according to their specified interests.
''iCanvas.org gives people an immediate and far-reaching way to make a difference,'' said Sunil Paul, executive director and cofounder of iCanvas. ''We`re hoping to start a progressive storm by giving anyone who has access to email the ability to share his or her views on an amplified scale and easily send important information to people they know who share their concerns, and might also become iCaptains.''
iCanvas.org does the work of sorting through tremendous amounts of news and credible commentary and organizing it into topic channels. iCaptains then decide which pieces to forward to their network based on each recipient`s explicitly stated preferences. Everyone`s personal preference is respected at all levels of this opt-in process. In addition, iCanvas.org respects all participants` privacy. Contact information is kept private and emails are sent only when an iCaptain permits.
All political viewpoints are invited to participate in this progressive movement to enhance the democratic process, at www.iCanvas.org.
About iCanvas.org
iCanvas.org helps concerned, but busy citizens easily amplify their political voices. It`s a simple service that aggregates information about political issues and facilitates its distribution to a person`s network of friends, family and colleagues. iCanvas.org provides information on the important political issues of the moment and user-friendly tools to help individuals have the greatest possible impact. Through simple web pages and an automated email system, it enables personalized message delivery. iCanvas.org aims to provide busy people with the means and tools to become empowered and engaged in politics.
About Sunil Paul
Executive Director and cofounder of iCanvas.org, Sunil was inspired to create the iCanvas.org technology when trying to canvas his own contacts in Ohio and elsewhere. He is also cofounder of several Internet companies, including Brightmail, the leading anti-spam company sold to Symantec for $370M in 2004, and FreeLoader, the first web-based push company sold to Individual, Inc for $38M in 1996. Sunil is also an active investor in startups in the energy and Internet markets. Prior to being an entrepreneur and investor, he was AOL`s first Internet product manager, was an analyst at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, a contractor on NASA`s space station project. He earned a B.E. from Vanderbilt University and grew up outside Nashville, Tennessee.
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