SFGate.com Rolls out New User Customization Tools

Market Wire, March, 2007

SFGate.com, the online partner of the San Francisco Chronicle, rolled out two new features that allow users to customize the font style and size of the article body text and to share SFGate.com articles with popular social bookmarking services with a single click.

SFGate.com's font tools allow users to change the style or size of their SFGate.com typeface so that they can customize the site in a way that makes it easier to read based on individual preferences. When a user makes a selection, the tool sets a cookie on their computer so that their choices will be remembered.

Additionally, SFGate.com is introducing share tools to social bookmarking services, which allow people with common interests to find each other based on the articles and web pages they've bookmarked. These share tools also provide lists of which articles have been bookmarked most.

"Feedback from users and visitors to SFGate.com has been very favorable with the recent changes to the site, but some readers have surprisingly strong personal preferences with respect to font sizes and type," said Peter Negulescu, Vice President of Digital Media. "Our goal is to provide the most user-friendly and interactive local portal and news site. Today's changes come as we continue to listen and learn from our users."

With 7.6 million unique visitors per month, SFGate.com is the leading news and information Web site for the San Francisco Bay Area. Reflecting the diverse spirit of the region, SFGate.com delivers the most up to the minute stories, in-depth special reports, unbeatable local sports coverage, the best regional listings and cutting edge entertainment coverage. SFGate is home to the San Francisco Chronicle, plus Web-only features by SFGate.com's own editorial team -- the Bay Area by the people who know it best.

The San Francisco Chronicle is the Bay Area's leading news and information source and has been connecting the region with its award-winning journalism since its founding in 1865. Combined with its online partner, SFGate.com, the San Francisco Chronicle reaches nearly 1.5 million Bay Area adults daily and more than 1.6 million on Sunday. The six-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Chronicle is the nation's 14th largest daily newspaper, and SFGate.com is consistently among the top six newspaper sites nationwide, with more than 7.6 million unique monthly users and more than 70 million monthly page views.

CONTACT: Brandon Hamm 415-777-6174 Email Contact