Paid, Inc. Extends Website Development, Branding Services to Educational Institutions
Provides Boost to ASSIST Cultural Exchange Program With Multi-Language Website
Suffield, CT and BOSTON —Paid, Inc. (OTCBB: PAYD)(www.paid.com) celebrity services has expanded its website development and maintenance services and online brand management to a broad range of educational organizations and institutions, including universities, high schools, alumni associations and non-profit educational programs. Most recently, Paid launched a new website, www.assist-inc.org, for the non-profit organization American Secondary Schools for International Students and Teachers (ASSIST), in support of the international educational community and American independent secondary schools.
Paid, Inc. COO Richard Rotman said, “We help our celebrity clients leverage the Internet in a myriad of ways to build their brands and connect with their fans, in much the same way that educational organizations need to reach out to their students, alumni and other audiences. It is a natural extension to utilize our skills and resources to provide these same services to educational organizations, particularly if we can do so in a way that enhances education and fosters global interaction. We see multiple synergies where educational organizations can utilize our proprietary ticketing system, website development, online community management, online branding and our suite of ecommerce services that includes storefronts, shopping carts, shipping calculation and fulfillment.”
Paid provided the initial web development and will continue to manage the site as part of a program offered to educational communities which helps them better interact with students, faculty and alumni. Through this program, organizations like ASSIST can perform key business tasks, enhance their efficiency and fully present their professional side as established, respected business entities.
ASSIST, which celebrates its 40th anniversary during the 2008/09 academic year, is a highly developed educational and cultural exchange program that brings deserving and talented international students to the United States on one-year scholarships at independent secondary schools. Over its 40-year history, more than 3600 students from 35 countries have become ASSIST scholars.
ASSIST-inc.org can be viewed in nine languages and is rich with support features, photos and program news, all for the benefit of serving its 88 current U.S. member schools and participants in 14 countries.
Tapping into Paid’s website development expertise and its broad array of proprietary system architecture, ASSIST controls the site and its evolution, including the quantity and level of interactive features it will use. On the back end, Paid’s proprietary systems and software provide security and a broad range of functionality. Students can get involved in a hands-on opportunity to learn website development while providing content and working on the interactive elements of the site. As a future development, ASSIST, its schools and other similar Paid clients can easily opt to add an online store, backed by Paid’s patented e-commerce technology, merchandise fulfillment center and secure financial transaction management.
“We cannot begin to express our appreciation for the comprehensive, state-of-the-art support that Paid has provided,” said ASSIST President Robert A. Stanley. “Rich Rotman’s business and technological vision is appealing and practical, and we found his colleagues creative, responsive and simply enjoyable to work with. This new technology is allowing us to instantly and reliably share experiences and information and recognize the incredible multicultural, multinational achievements of our students and alumni. The site has immediately become an essential tool for running ASSIST as the global business that it is, while allowing us to maintain our focus on educational excellence.”
Mr. Stanley added, “Previously, we had no reliable way in which to communicate with member schools nationwide; students, families and colleagues in 14 countries; or alumni in 35 countries. We are now confident of involving the ASSIST family more reliably in our work -- meaning deepened applicant pools, better positioning of the ASSIST ideal and mission, and increased fundraising support from those who believe in our work.”
About ASSIST Since ASSIST’s inception in 1969 by its visionary founder, the late Paul G. Sanderson, Jr., ASSIST has evolved to become a recognized leader in its field. Beginning with an initial group of 13 students in 1969/70, the program now boasts 130 students from 14 countries in the 40th Anniversary Class of 2008/09. For future years, ASSIST has already formed partnerships that will bring students from the Middle East and North Africa, with other countries and regions under consideration.
About Paid, Inc.: Paid, Inc.’s diversified set of businesses, includes its celebrity services and AuctionInc ecommerce technology businesses. Its celebrity services provides celebrities and organizations with official websites and fan club services that include e-commerce storefronts, ticketing and fan experience packages and website content to attract tens of thousands of visitors daily. Using proprietary patented technology, Paid's innovative AuctionInc brand shipping calculation and auction management software and services streamline online auctions, ecommerce and website development and hosting. The Company's common stock is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol PAYD.
Forward Looking Statements: This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, including matters related to the Company's operations, profitability, business development efforts, and expectations about celebrity programs and fan club activities, technologies, and services. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's most recent filings, including Form 10-QSB with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
