Wetpaint platform for building fan-based communities honored with prestigious award

SEATTLE, WA (PR Newswire) March 26 -- Wetpaint announced today that it has been honored as the Consumer Product of the Year by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) as part of its 14th annual Industry Achievement Awards (IAAs). The awards recognize companies, individuals and students who best demonstrate innovation and excellence in creating new technologies, applications and services. Finalists were chosen by a panel of industry experts, and the winners were chosen by the technology community through an online voting system.

"For the first time ever, thousands of votes from the local technology community determined this year's IAA winners. To be named by your peers as one of our region's best and brightest is a great honor," said Ken Myer, president and CEO of the WTIA. "We've watched the local technology community grow exponentially during our 25 years as an organization, and we believe this year's winners demonstrated that Washington continues to be a home for world class innovations. We're honored to be able to recognize these companies and individuals, and we look forward to seeing what great things they will do next."

Wetpaint is the best platform for creating passionate fan-based communities online. Wetpaint sites are so easy to create and use that anyone can follow their passion and form a community around any topic they love. Because of this, top entertainment and technology companies such as Fox, HBO, Showtime, and T-Mobile have partnered with Wetpaint to create fan communities that increase and engage their audience to meet their business objectives.

"On behalf of our nearly 1.5 million site creators and 8 million users, Wetpaint is honored to receive the WTIA Industry Achievement Award for Consumer Product of the Year," said Ben Elowitz, founder and CEO of Wetpaint. "Fans' passion for entertainment, sports, politics, and social activism inspires us every day to produce the best and most empowering online community platform possible."

The Washington Technology Industry Association, founded in 1984, is the largest statewide association of technology companies, IT departments and individual technology professionals in North America. With more than 1,000 member companies representing more than 100,000 employees in Washington State, the association is a catalyst for sharing expertise, fostering collaboration, delivering key business services and advancing the value and global impact of technology companies doing business in Washington.

About Wetpaint: Wetpaint provides the leading platform for fans to easily create and participate in online communities around the topics they care about most. With the world's largest network of 1.5 million fan-powered websites and partnerships with major brands such as Dell, Discovery Channel, Fox, HBO, HP, HTC, Showtime, and T-Mobile, Wetpaint offers mainstream Internet users and businesses a turnkey solution for creating and fostering passionate communities that drive traffic and increase loyalty. For company information, visit www.wetpaint.com.