UTRECHT – On May 8, 2008 Scoutle has been launched; a social-network site where users create personal webbots (Scouts) that walk through the Internet, while meeting other Scouts and connect to each other. Scoutle offers users a unique way of promoting their blog or website and finding other interesting users without having to do anything. By continuously ranking all submitted websites, the Guide offers a real-time overview of which website is most relevant at that moment within a certain discipline, field of interest or (friends) network.

Scouts meet each other at websites of other users and exchange information. For every meeting two Scouts are being introduced based on language, contents of website, relevance, number of visitors, length of visits, interests and (friends) networks. Users are able to see who their Scouts meet, how often and where. The more a Scout meets another Scout, the more interesting the two users can be to each other.

If two users find their websites interesting, they can create a Connection. Together with the number of visitors and length of stay, the number of Connections are used to calculate relevance and to grant points. The more appreciation you get, the better your position in the Guide and the more visitors you can expect.

Every user can create and join networks or invite other users to join. Within these Networks we continuously calculate the most relevant websites. These Networks can be used, for instance, to see which soccer team player has the most appreciated website.

Calculating the ranking, relevance and points is a constant process where all results of all Scouts are used. If a user is becoming less popular, his appreciation and points will drop as well. This way, the Guide offers a fair overview that is hard to manipulate.

Scoutle is available in the Dutch and English language, largely text-based and a fullscreen version is available for those with sight disabilities. Scoutle can be used anonymously, can be used with OpenID and is independent; the embedded media widget can be implemented in every blog or website. Using Scoutle is free, a movie is available with a more detailed description.

Visit Scoutle at: http://www.scoutle.com

Or http://scoutle.mobi (Mobile Version)