What’s Your Story?

‘Launch of GirlsGoOut.co.uk - the first women-only social networking website in the UK’

Most girls would love to be like Carrie Bradshaw, enjoying a circle of friends with whom they can chat, go for a drink, a meal, the cinema or just unwind with a trip to the shops. Although ‘Sex and the City’ promotes an idyllic lifestyle, there are thousands of girls out there who just don’t have the social circle of friends depicted in the TV series. They may have moved into a new area or their friends may have moved away, they may have divorced, or be single mums who haven’t had the chance to build friendships with like-minded girls. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to get out and do the sort of things all girls like to do, but don’t enjoy doing on their own?

Well now they can! GirlsGoOut.co.uk is the only social networking website in the UK which is exclusively for women of all ages and backgrounds who are looking for a safe, secure and non-intimidating approach of finding new friends in their specific area.

The website is the brainchild of founder Julie Thompson who devised the site because she was running out of girlfriends who wanted to do the same things that she liked. She explained: “Although I still kept contact with my old friends, like most people I went through lifestyle changes and over time, we drifted apart. I wasn’t looking for a dating agency or the type of website where you met your existing friends, I wanted to find new friends who had something in common with me and could meet up for coffee, meals, go shopping, a visit to the cinema or days out, but nothing like that was available in the UK.”

Unlike other networking sites, GirlsGoOut.co.uk actively encourages members not just to chat to strangers online, but also to actively meet up, go out and build friendships. Members build their own profile by choosing from a range of search criteria such as age, background, professional or educational qualifications, politics, general interests or whether they smoke or drink.

Existing members can then search for likeminded women in their locality and invite them to meet up. Group events can be organised through the invitations register, which is a special feature where members can post invitations onto the site for all types of events in a specific area. This has proved particularly attractive to members who don’t want to approach individuals directly, but are happy to take part in group activities, such as going to the theatre or a restaurant, or even take part in the local fun run.

Added Julie. “When I was doing my research, I discovered there were many reasons why women lost touch with friends. Some changed jobs and moved away, some had divorced and lost their friends along with their partner, some were widowed, some are single mums isolated in the home and some quite simply have grown apart from their friends. There are no restrictions on the age of our members or the numbers of friends they can make either within their own area or away from it as it is also handy for those women who work away from home - the only criteria to join is to be a woman. Our motto is simple; every member is a girl and our aim is to find them a friend.”

To celebrate the launch of GirlsGoOut.co.uk membership is FREE to the first 2,000 applicants.

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More about Julie Thompson
Julie is an inveterate traveller and managed to circumnavigate the globe by the age of 12, a tradition she has continued both in her business life and for pleasure. After leaving school Julie gained over 20 years experience in the Logistics industry working with major international organisations, most recently as logistics manager for Burberry.

Her busy lifestyle resulted in finding that she had drifted apart from many of her friends and she found it hard to find new friends with similar ideas and interests. She realised that there must be many other girls facing a similar situation, and it was this that stimulated the idea of Girls Go Out. She researched the Internet for sites that were safe and easy to use, but were not intended for dating or gathering market research data. Her experience as both a customer and service provider meant that she was able to design a website that really delivered the right service for her and other girls who just wanted mates and not dates. Girls Go Out took over a year to develop and was launched in October 2008.

Julie is a very positive person with excellent inter personal skills. She exudes confidence and with her total belief in the product, she will make an excellent interviewee for radio and television programmes to discuss the issues raised in this document.

For further information visit www.girlsgoout.co.uk

Media contact details
Colin Caldicott, Ultimedia PR

Tel 01767 601477 Mobile 07905 329616 e-mail colin@ultimediapr.co.uk

Val Jefferys, Ultimedia PR

Tel 01223 276949 Mobile 07949 266883 e-mail val@ultimediapr.co.uk

This post was submitted by Ultimedia PR.