Firstly
there was Facebook and Twitter and now
ipatter
. But why do we need
ipatter
?
ipatter
is set to transform the way businesses and organisations connect with
each other and their customers. More succinct than traditional
communication channels, like post or emails, and more tailored than
social media platforms,
ipatter
simply gives organisations, businesses, charities and educational
institutions, known as Broadcasters,
a platform to broadcast their messages or Patters.
Suitable
for both business to business and business to consumer audiences, Broadcasters
or individual users, known as Members,
can choose who they want to connect to, and gradually build a Network
of things that matter to them, on a local level and beyond.
ipatter
has distinct advantages over both Facebook, which is more suitable for
personal and individual inter-action, and Twitter where messages or
“Tweets” are limited to just a few words.
Those who send “patters” are referred to as Broadcasters and their
messages can be up to 3,000 characters in length. This equates to at
least 500 words a time.
“
ipatter
is designed to be a more serious site where groups and businesses can
get their messages out. It is a grown up way of communicating,” said
director
Jane Lewin
who runs the business from
ipatter
s offices in Little Melton.'
The site is divided into various categories and organisations can chose
the sector from which they wish to receive patters. These are very
diverse and include accommodation, animals and pets, industrial
and commercial, homes and gardens, sports and leisure, finance and money
to name just a few. One patter a day is allowed free and organisations
already using the service include Norwich Theatre Royal,
Sheringham
High School
, Redwings Horse Sanctuary and locally Hethersett Athletic Football
Club.
“The idea is for organisations to send out targeted messages
about their activities to their audience. Over 90 organisations
have joined
ipatter
and this number is increasing daily. Currently we want
Norfolk
businesses, organisations and schools to sign up but we will be
rolling out
ipatter
nationally, “ said
ipatter
’s Marketing Manager
Belinda James
.
Adam Gibson, assistant head of Sheringham High welcomed
ipatter
:
“The
'non-junk' and 'on-demand' elements will be of interest to stakeholders
of the schools such as parents and carers.
ipatter
will provide a very effective, free alternative tool to communicate to
those stakeholders; saving the cost of existing methods such as text
messaging',” he said.
“We are very pleased to have
Sheringham
High School
using the system as they see it as an important way of sending out
information. We will be give £100 to the first 100
schools to sign up 100 members,”
Jane Lewin
added.
ipatter
has been initially financed by its six directors and a private
share option.
ipatter
.com
was officially launched by television personality Helen McDermott at
Brasted’s Restaurant at Framingham Pigot.
