Digital Family, USC Annenberg and E-Poll Partner to Research Managing Online Communities

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - September 16, 2009) - Digital Family, in conjunction with the USC's Annenberg Program on Online Communities at USC and E-Poll Market Research, today announced the launch of a research study to uncover best practices for managing online communities.

The "Managing Online Communities" survey can be taken online at www.digitalfamilyinc.com and is open to professionals from across all industries with responsibility for any aspect of building, maintaining and marketing communities online.

E-Poll Market Research CEO Gerry Philpott and Karen Kovacs North, director of USC's Annenberg Program on Online Communities, will discuss the goals of the study during the upcoming Digital Family Summit '09, Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 5:00pm at the Wokcano Restaurant in Santa Monica.

As part of the Summit, Jason Calacanis will broadcast his acclaimed "This Week In Start-Ups" (http://thisweekinstartups.com) live from the event to thousands of technology professionals and will interview two major executives in the "online community" sector: Peter Hirshberg, Co-founder and Chairman, The Conversation Group, and Mike Jones, COO, MySpace.

The Digital Family Summit will bring together community builders and social media thought leaders from a wide cross-section of technology, media, marketing and business communities, including members of more than a dozen professional associations and networking groups who have partnered with Digital Family to make the event possible. The Summit will also feature an expo comprised of sponsors involved in providing tools and services in the evolving online communities sector.

About Digital Family

Digital Family is a social enterprise providing the connections and services to accelerate and evolve the international technology industry by providing resources, networking, news and information, education, events, job boards and other valuable tools to build relationships that will drive business.

The Digital Family mission is to connect and inspire technology industry professionals and companies worldwide, enabling them to achieve their individual business objectives and empowering them to make a positive impact both locally and globally. For more information, please see the Digital Family website (www.digitalfamilyinc.com).

About USC's Annenberg Program on Online Communities

The Annenberg Program on Online Communities (APOC) is a research enterprise and a one-year master's degree program at USC's Annenberg School for Communication. Our research and degree programs focus on online communities, social media, and other means by which people gather in the digital space. Online communities are changing our political, social, and economic lives. APOC master's degree students learn how to become managers and leaders of these digital communities and sharing sites, by studying the theory and practices behind social networking, viral marketing, media convergence, monetization, and many other fascinating topics. For more information, please see the APOC website (www.annenbergonline.com) or email Karen North (knorth@usc.edu).

E-Poll Market Research

E-Poll Market Research is a leading provider of custom research products and services for entertainment and media companies. Products include the E-Score® family of celebrity, character and brand evaluations and FastTrack™ Television. Custom services include survey design, data analysis and reporting using advanced industry specific methodologies. In addition to traditional and online focus groups, E-Poll utilizes a deeply profiled, proprietary research panel which offers the ability to access highly targeted sample groups quickly and cost effectively. For more information, please see the E-Poll website (www.epoll.com).

Contact Information: Contact: Jessica Hasson Jessica@terpin.com 323-710-3556