WhiteFence and Twitter

What a crazy world we live in. Remember when you used to talk to your friend next door with some cans and shoe strings? Or maybe if you're much older, you used wild grunts and the flailing of prehistoric arms. Regardless of those outdated forms of communication, things have come a long way, mostly because of the Web and wireless devices.

Take Twitter, for instance, a microblog service that many of you have no doubt heard of due to its recent explosion over the past few months. Last weekend, two London Marathon runners used Twitter during the 26 mile race, updating followers to their status as they progressed.

While there will be nothing quite as whimsical as a marathon update, WhiteFence has actually joined the Twitter-verse, updating users with things we find on the Web as well as money saving advice and even specials from our Web site. Visit the WhiteFence Twitter page and follow us! Hope to see you there.

Get the Average Utility Costs for December

The December data has been updated at the WhiteFence Index, our handy little tool that shows the average utility costs among 20+ of the top U.S. cities. You can compare phone, high-speed Internet, cable TV, electricity and natural gas prices in cities like New York, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and more.

The index also allows you to compare by city or by service, giving a ton of options to dig down and see what our neighbors are paying for home services.

Two WhiteFence Announcements

You might have noticed a couple of new items in the WhiteFence Press Room this morning, bringing a couple of pieces of news about the world of WhiteFence.

• WhiteFence and Barnes and Noble at Westheimer Crossing Host Reach Out and Read Book Fair

WhiteFence is partnering with Reach Out and Read to help put on a book fair this Saturday, June 21 at the Barnes and Noble at Westheimer Crossing. There were will be story time with many authors, crafts, treats and more.

• WhiteFence Names Chip Smith Chief Marketing Officer

Recently, there has been a new addition to the WhiteFence team. Chip Smith joined the company as its Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Smith will lead the development and execution of marketing strategies for WhiteFence and its vast network of Web sites, products and services. He has a wide array of experience in this field, including many years with Monster.com in New York.

To find out more about these two exciting announcements, you can read the press releases or check them out at the WhiteFence Press Room. Be sure to keep checking out WhiteFence to get the best deal on your home services.

WhiteFence on YouTube

For you YouTube fanatics, WhiteFence now has its own YouTube channel. Visit WhiteFenceVideo to see the WhiteFence spots on FoxNews shows Mike and Juliet as well as Fox and Friends Saturday. Also, you can view WhiteFence CEO Eric Danziger's announcement about WhiteFence's push to go green as a company.

If you already have a YouTube account, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on future WhiteFence videos and announcements!

Need to Lower Your Bills?

If you're like me, then trying to navigate your way through the month's stack of bills is not something that you look forward to. It's no secret that prices are rising as we get closer to the summer, and people are bound to be searching for ways to cut costs.

Fortunately, WhiteFence.com has recently added a section for all of you that are looking for lower bills on home services, utilities and more. The Lower My Bills page is a helpful resource that provides tips for households that need to reduce what they are spending each month on their bills.

The tips cover everything from bundling your services all the way through energy conservation as a way of saving money on electricity bills. There is also a page devoted to lowering credit card bills through credit card consolidation, where multiple credit cards can be applied to one card with just one interest rate, simplifying the bill paying process.

To get started and lower your bills today, read more at WhiteFence.

The Upgraded WhiteFence Index

Want to find out what the people in your city are paying for their utilities? WhiteFence is proud to introduce the new-and-improved WhiteFence Index. If you aren't familiar with the WhiteFence Index, it's a tool to help you compare your monthly utility bills to the average that your neighbors pay. Whether you're switching, transferring home services or moving into a new home, the WhiteFence Index is a great resource to help budget your move and monthly utility bills.

The WhiteFence Index is currently available for 21 of the nation's top cities. The averages for telecommunications services are based on the orders that we see from our many websites, while the averages for electricity and natural gas are obtained differently. Due to our widespread relationships with service providers and our knowledge of the energy industry, WhiteFence has been able to get the actual price for each city published. If you'd like to read more about how these averages are compiled, feel free to read more at the WhiteFence Index methodology

A couple of features and improvements have been added to the newest version. One of the more notable upgrades is that each city now has its own city-specific page, so that you can compare between two different locations. This is especially useful for movers who are relocating and can really help you plan out a secure budget for your first few months in a new home or apartment. The other important addition to the WhiteFence Index is the ability to compare the average costs on individual home services. This means that you can compare what people in Houston paid for Internet service to what people in Atlanta paid for Internet service.

To discover more about what you could be saving on home utilities, head on over to the WhiteFence Index.

Find Out the Average Cost for Utilities and Home Services

Curious how much people are paying for their utilities in major cities across the country? The WhiteFence Index compares utility prices for phone, Internet, TV, electricity and natural gas among 21 of the nation's top cities. The WhiteFence Index not only provides averages for each type of home service, but also provides the national average for all home services as well as the average price for each city.

Phone, Internet and TV data is pulled from the hundreds of thousands of orders made through WhiteFence sites each month. WhiteFence determines the average cost for these communications products based on the customer's base orders. To see more in depth details on the process for determining both the communications as well as the electricity and natural gas data, WhiteFence Index methodology.

Whether switching, transferring home services or moving into a new home, the WhiteFence Index is a great resource to help budget your move and monthly utility bills.

Easy and Affordable Options for Purchasing Renters Insurance

In case of fire, break open this blog and wish that you had read it sooner. Protecting your 18-year-old couch covered with Ramen stains may not seem like a top priority, but with the recent relaunch of GetRentersInsurance, renters can protect their personal belongings at an affordable monthly rate.

GetRentersInsurance.com, a member of the WhiteFence network, provides renters with a comparison shopping marketplace to help find reasonable rates on renters insurance policies. So instead of dousing your apartment in plastic, or hoping that you don't come home to a bonfire via your property, cover your valuables with a renters insurance policy, and   rest assured that your stuff is being watched over.

Your Latest Dish - Prepared by WhiteFence

Now it's even easier for you to connect your DISH Network service. You can still go through WhiteFence or you can try out the new site that was launched last week, ConnectMyDishTV.com. For more information on this new site see the WhiteFence press release.

Press Release: WhiteFence Acquires Competitor ConnectUtilities

HOUSTON (June 7, 2007) - Executives at WhiteFence, the nation's leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for residential home services, announced today that the company has acquired competitor ConnectUtilities. Beginning immediately, WhiteFence will integrate ConnectUtilities into its growing family of Web sites.

Both WhiteFence and ConnectUtilities offer the 110 million U.S. households the opportunity to compare pricing and order service plans for a variety of residential home services, including home telephone, high-speed Internet, natural gas and cable television, among others.

"While our strategy has been to grow WhiteFence organically, we're excited to take this next step and acquire ConnectUtilities," stated WhiteFence chief executive officer Eric Danziger. "Through this acquisition, we are able to grow our channel partner relationships, technology infrastructure and customer base as we further expand our national footprint."

ConnectUtilities, also founded in 2000, provides full-service utility connections online, while at the same time offering up-to-date promotions and cost saving opportunities.

WhiteFence recently completed its second round of funding, having raised $14 million led by new investor Adams Street Partners, in addition to Internet Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICGE), who led the company's first round of funding in 2005.

About WhiteFence

WhiteFence is the leading one-stop online comparison-shopping marketplace that helps consumers compare and order home services such as electricity, natural gas, phone, cable and satellite TV, high-speed Internet and more. WhiteFence's proprietary transaction engine makes it easy for all 110 million U.S. households, including movers, to find the best deals and conveniently set up their home services in minutes.

Safe Harbor Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future performance of our partner companies, acquisitions or dispositions of interests in partner companies, the effect of economic conditions generally, capital spending by customers and development of the e-commerce and information technology markets, and uncertainties detailed in the Company???s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.