6 August 07

uthink.Co.NZ Not For The Faint-Hearted

uthink.co.nz, an independently owned website for all New Zealanders to have their say - on anything - is definitely not for the faint-hearted, or half-hearted, company spokesman Kirk MacGibbon said today.

"Since the site launched a couple of weeks ago it has attracted thousands of posts on an incredible range of subjects, from whether the Burger King bikini girls are sexist and should be pulled, through to one persons advice on how to fix all New Zealand's problems," said Kirk MacGibbon.

"Its an incredibly addictive phenomenon too. Once you've posted you want to keep coming back to check out how the debate is progressing. Having posted on the site, you'd better be prepared to defend your position against robust debate and argument."

"One of the reasons behind the development of the site was to provide a forum for everyone to have their say with as few controls on content as possible. If you can think, you can uthink.

"With membership numbers growing steadily, we appear to have tapped into a rich vein of dissatisfaction with existing channels for expressing views and opinions," said Kirk MacGibbon.

"If you want to write a letter to the editor you have to conform to a whole set of rules before you can get published. If you want to ring talkback you have to conform to the rules of the radio station and can be cut off at any time.

"uthink provides people everywhere with a voice and perhaps equally importantly, a means to engage in debate with others without someone, somewhere dictating how that debate can progress."

To encourage people to have their say, uthink is paying $50 for posts that attract the biggest response and are judged by the company as worthwhile and pertinent. Nearly $5000 has been given away to date.

A number of personalities, including the Mad Butcher and sports nut Tony Veitch are posting their views to the site, which is proving popular with members.

"Equally as pleasing for the company, uthink.co.nz is attracting strong support from advertisers keen to get their messages in front of the site's membership," said Kirk MacGibbon.

The company has big ambitions to become the leading forum for the expression of views and opinions.

"There are a number of sites that play at giving the impression of wanting to encourage debate, but they then set the topic and impose all sorts of rules on contributors.

"We believe the site will be of real benefit to interest groups and pressure groups who can set up their own channels and communicate directly with their members and ours, without the need for setting up a dedicated website of their own," said Kirk MacGibbon.

ENDS

© Scoop Media