New ‘Facebook’ delivers social benefits to young people across the UK
Bournemouth, England – 16th of July, 2008 – A new social networking site that can be installed into the websites of youth centres and young people’s agencies is set to improve the employability and social lives of young people across the UK as well as providing an anonymous resource for information on stop & search rights, bullying, sexual health and other ‘sensitive’ subjects.
iYoof (www.iyoof.co.uk) launched in July 2008, after a three month test period for Slough Borough Council. E-creation, one of UK’s leading design agencies for creative digital projects, developed iYoof as part of rebrand & website redevelopment for Slough Young People’s Centre. In June, the SYPC site averaged over 2,000 visitors per week and the site is projected to achieve 20% usage by the young people in Slough within a year of its launch. Sascha White, manager of SYPC, described iYoof as delivering “what we believe to be the best young people’s website, combining the best cutting edge technology with extremely sharp, relevant design, both things being vital to attract young people to our site and giving SYPC digital presence credibility.” E-creation has been developing its ‘youth oriented’ designs using Facebook pages with voting functionality for the clearest feedback.
iYoof helps engage young people with education, increases their employability and provides a valuable resource for sensitive information in areas such as stop & search rights, bullying & sexual health in an ‘anonymous’ safe environment. The online CV builder uses profile information to pre-populate as much as possible of a young person’s CV, followed by a series of questions ensuring all information required by employers is included and correctly formatted. Young people can then chose the ‘style’ of CV, which becomes available for download, as well as being published online with key information ‘blackout’ for security reasons.
A ‘reality soap’ feature is currently being built, providing young people with the chance to create their own multimedia soap operas based on reality TV programs like Big Brother, published through iYoof. The ‘reality soap’ functionality will create weekly podcasts for Apple iPods, animated photo stories & integrated blogging, providing creative outlet for young people.
Social networking sites tend to focus on adults, yet Ofcom’s recent survey of 8 to 17 year olds revealed that 49% have an online profile. Jan-Erik Paul, MD of E-creation, says “Previous social networking sites have not delivered the true benefits of social networking for young people. With iYoof, young people become more employable through better quality CVs, more creative through publishing function that addresses the needs of the ‘reality’ generation and better educated in important areas that can be difficult to discuss with adults or peers. Every youth organisation should give consideration to the effectiveness of their web-based communications. The ‘digital generation’ is reducing time spent in front of the television, in favour of the computer and most specifically social networking. Childnet International’s recent report has highlighted the importance of providing young people with a ‘voice’ on the Internet. iYoof’s safe, engaging environment enhances the lives of young people online and offline.”
E-creation (www.e-creation.co.uk) is an award winning design agency, established in 1998, specialising in creative projects for the web, CD-ROM and other media. E-creation’s clients include Royal Bank of Scotland, Unisys & WHSmith.
Contact: Jan-Erik Paul
Phone: 01202 853685
E-mail: jp@e-creation.eu
