Social Networking Finds a Purpose with Personal Bar Recommendations from RatePubs.com

Cork, IE If you’ve ever searched for a good bar then personalized recommendations from RatePubs.com are for you.

RatePubs Personal Recommendations provides specific recommendations of pubs and bars around the world customized for each individual. Based on what you have previously said you liked and what your friends suggest, personal recommendations can help you to travel the world sure in the knowledge that you can find somewhere you will like for food, drink or atmosphere.

Personal Recommendations are part of the new range of social networking features from RatePubs.com. These features mean it is now easier than ever to find people who visit the same places you do, meet new friends, keep in touch with them and much more.

According to Brian O’Connell the CEO of RatePubs, these new social networking features differ from those of other sites because of what they are designed to do;
“Having used social networking sites myself I was impressed by the concept but not the implementation. Gathering lists of friends and their friends seemed somewhat pointless and sterile by itself. But the concept remained interesting and was one that I felt we could adapt to be useful to our visitors.
This led to some discussions internally and finally to the implementation we’re announcing today.”

The RatePubs Social Network contains a range of features including;
• MyNews – Create mini-blogs to keep your friends up to date with what’s happening in your life.
• MyTags – Members can define themselves with tags or allow their friends to tag them.
• MyLocal – Identify bars you regularly visit, find others who hang out in the same places and see what other bars they recommend.
• MyFriends – Find friends and add them to your list so you can keep in touch easily, and automatically get their recommendations.
• MyCrushes –Mark someone as a crush and see if they feel the same way. Crushes are kept secret unless a match is made.
• Bar Reviews – The core of the site, RatePubs.com allows visitors to review pubs and bars around the world. These reviews go into determining their personal recommendations.

An exciting aspect of RatePubs is how a person automatically builds a virtual network simply by using the site. Recommendations are made based on recommendations from a members immediate network of friends and from their virtual network which consists of people who frequent or like the same bars.
As Brian explained, "Combining virtual networks with immediate ones means that a person can gain the benefits of recommendations without having to work at building a list of friends. This makes the site immediately useful to anyone. Of course the more a person uses the site, either by writing reviews or making friends, the more recommendations we can provide. This is the real benefit of social networking."

As members browse the site their personal recommendations are highlighted to them. They can then get further information on why that premises was recommended at the same time as they read more information on the bar, including the reviews. Personal recommendations are also highlighted on the downloadable PDA and paper guides available to members.

Membership of RatePubs.com and its social networking features, including personal bar recommendations, is free and available at www.ratepubs.com.

About RatePubs.com
RatePubs.com is a service of Minotaur Software in Cork, Ireland. Among the 50,000 busiest web sites in the world (source Alexa.com) RatePubs.com is the premier destination for those seeking information on bars around the world.

RatePubs also supply information to a range of other specialist and tourist sites including www.aguest-of-ireland.com, www.aguest-of-europe.com, www.irishfestivals.com, ww.californiabarguide.com, www.irishpubsdirectory.com and others.