PlanetOut, Leading Gay and Lesbian Internet Media Company, Debuts New Web Site and New Look

Company Delivers More Services and Content www.planetout.com or AOL Keyword: PlanetOut

SAN FRANCISCO, (Nov. 17, 1999) – PlanetOut Corporation (www.planetout.com) announced today a brand new Web site featuring a new logo and design and added member services including free e-mail with integrated free postcards, more relevant searches, the Web’s best personals, improved personalization and new content offerings.

"We continue to create a thriving global community on the Internet for gays and lesbians to exchange ideas and share thoughts," said Megan J. Smith, PlanetOut CEO. "We continue to listen to their needs to create a site that’s vibrant and welcoming."

Stay in Touch with Free PlanetOut E-mail PlanetOut members who want one convenient dashboard to the Internet now have PlanetOut e-mail free of charge. PlanetOut’s e-mail also includes integrated electronic postcards designed by leading gay and lesbian artists.

Romance Connection – PlanetOut Personals More than 35,000 people await members looking to meet new friends or find that special someone in PlanetOut Personals. PlanetOut’s innovative personals enable members to find people with shared interests quickly and easily as they are more comprehensive and easier-to-use than any other personals offered on the Web. For a limited introductory period, PlanetOut personals are free of charge.

Find Your Way – Unique Search Capabilities PlanetOut offers unique new search capabilities that make it easy to find what members are looking for not just on PlanetOut, but on the whole Internet. Using Google’s new search engine, PlanetOut Search delivers faster, more relevant results in an instant: What’s on PlanetOut, What’s on the gay and lesbian Internet and What’s on the whole Internet.

Easier, Faster, More Convenient – The site’s new design, based on member feedback over the past several months, offers greatly simplified navigation, making it easier for members to find what they want the first time. The new design also features fewer graphics for faster loading and an easy-to-read typeface. Plus, it takes under a minute to become a PlanetOut member with a streamlined registration process.

Improved Personalization – PlanetOut lets members choose their own color schemes, bookmark their favorite message boards and save their searches.

Leading Columnists Susan Stryker, executive director of the San Francisco-based Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society, pens a new history column and Betty DeGeneres writes an enormously popular advice column. Acclaimed writer Louise Fradkin will contribute biweekly travel stories and HBO comedian Bob Smith will write a diary of his life on the road as he performs internationally.

New Channels: Entertainment, Money, Health, Home, Family, Relationships & More PlanetOut relaunches its personal finance section as Money and Careers to help members get the most out of the workplace and manage the unique needs of gay and lesbian consumers in financial planning, investments and inheritance. PlanetOut also introduces a new entertainment channel that will do for books, music and TV what PopcornQ did for film and video. Health, Fitness, and Sports; Home and Garden; and Family and Relationships will debut in the coming weeks.

PlanetOut is the leading Internet media company offering a vibrant, welcoming and safe community for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and their family and friends. A trusted consumer brand since 1995, PlanetOut offers comprehensive, original and relevant content including: news, entertainment, travel, money and career, Internet radio, online cinema, shopping, directories, free e-mail, personals, message boards, chat and advice columns by well-known experts such as Betty DeGeneres.

PlanetOut enriches the lives of gay and lesbian people both online and offline, and has more than 325,000 registered members. PlanetOut has key distribution partnerships with AOL, Netscape, ICQ, Yahoo!, NBCi’s Snap.com, Lycos, RealNetworks, Compuserve and other major Web companies. PlanetOut is a San Francisco-based company and major investors include Silicon Valley’s Mayfield Fund, America Online, UK-based Eden Capital and prominent angel investors.

Experience PlanetOut at www.planetout.com or AOL Keyword: PlanetOut.

PlanetOut and PNO are registered trademarks of PlanetOut Corporation. All other trademarks belong to their holders.

Labels: English, Press Center Blog