Atlaspost site wins People's Choice Award at DEMO 08

Taipei-based Okay Search Inc's (渥奇數位資訊) Atlaspost (地圖日記) Web site won the People's Choice Award at DEMOfall 08, a launch venue for selected new products, in the US on Jan. 30.

This year's winner was decided through a vote by more than 500 venture capital companies and 100 international media. Okay Search, whose innovative map-based social network allows users to connect with those around them, was the first foreign company to win the award in 18 years.

BIANNUAL

DEMO is held twice a year, in February and September.

"My initial idea was to use an online map as a platform to facilitate interaction between users," 32-year-old Jerry Kuo (郭書齊), founder of Okay Search, told the media at a briefing held by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Tuesday.

Kuo said Taiwan would serve as the company's primary research and development (R&D) center, while the US was the target market.

Atlaspost has three main features, dubbed Atlas Village, Atlas Albums and Atlas Posts. Atlas Village users can buy a virtual house that becomes a base from which to browse other "villages" and make friends online.

Users can upload and share photos taken with GPS-capable mobile phones to Atlas Albums, while blog-like entries are available on Atlas Posts.

capital

Founded in April last year, Okay Search's capital has grown from NT$500,000 to NT$12 million. Atlaspost, which has approximately 30,000 users nationwide, expects membership to grow to 200,000 in Taiwan and 500,000 in the US by the end of the year, Kuo said.

Ten venture capital companies had expressed interest since Atlaspost won the People's Choice Award, Kuo said. Okay Search aims to raise US$3 million by the end of the second quarter and set up a branch office in Silicon Valley in the US, he said.

"We hope to headquarter our research and development center in Taiwan, but are looking to the US market for the future," co-founder Andy Kuo (郭家齊), Jerry Kuo's 28-year-old brother, said.