29 March 1999 – Carson City: Manifold Net has commenced shipments of the first software package that allows use of sophisticated Geographic Information System (GIS) and Mapping techniques to send email. The Manifold Send Email package for Manifold System allows users to send geo-targeted email and to call pagers directly from within Manifold System, a high end GIS. For ultimate "plug and play" simplicity and ease of use, the system utilizes Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express to take advantage of the email connectivity already set up by the user. Manifold makes it easy to send email and pages based on where people live or the demographic factors in their neighborhoods. Manifold System with Send Email is only $145. It is the first and only GIS that can send mass email directly from the desktop. Manifold runs on Microsoft Windows '95/'98/'NT/2000 and can be purchased online at www.manifold.net.

"Mapping and Geographic Information Systems made the direct mail revolution possible with ordinary postal snail mail" commented Dimitri Rotow, Product Manager "Now Manifold brings that same revolution to the world of email. Because email is fast and pagers are instantaneous, our product makes many new uses possible that cannot be accomplished by dropping a letter in the mail. For example, the closest members of a rural fire department could be paged to rally in response to a particular blaze. Companies can send email to all customers within a certain driving distance of a new store opening. Emergency coordinators in the path of a severe storm can be paged. Direct marketers can email people living in high-income census tracts located within the trading range of an upscale shopping center. The possibilities are endless."

Manifold is a high-end, professional GIS package that people use to link maps with databases. The package can display maps from almost any source and use data from almost any database. By marrying databases with maps, Manifold gives users the ability to manipulate data using a free-form combination of geographic relationships, database relationships, and computed relationships such as mathematical or statistical measures. It is intended for use by individual Windows "power users" and professionals in businesses and organizations worldwide.

For example, an insurance company might use Manifold to locate all customers within three miles of a shoreline whose policy value exceeds a certain amount. Manifold can then use this collection of customers in subsequent operations. Statistics can be calculated, such as the average policy value, the total of all policies at risk, and so forth. Manifold can find all agents associated with those customers and send each an email regarding policy changes.

Manifold Net realizes that any software package that makes it easier for people to send automated mass mailings has a potential for misuse by irresponsible people. However, the benficial effects of sending email using Manifold are so strong the company feels it would be unethical to withhold the package.

"There will be people who abuse our software to send unsolicited email." Commented Rotow, "It is already unpleasant to get spam and I suppose it would be especially creepy to get spam that seemed to indicate the sender knows where you live. We've all received junk mail like that and no one wants to see that repeated in the email world. However, the potential for good and efficiency in this software is so high that we cannot allow fear of spam to prevent us from delivering this revolution in email communications."

Email users who will benefit from this new capability include:

Companies - can contact employees, agents or dealers in various locations without having to send out unnecessary email to everyone. Locations can be determined by proximity, by drive time, by being within a particular geographic area or any other of the infinitly variable selection methods made possible by Manifold. Even non-geographic criteria such as spatial or networking relationships can be used. For example, Manifold can email everyone whose last name starts from M to N who is also located no farther than two highway exits from a given facility.

Political Organizations - can use Manifold to help organize campaign volunteers and activists to accommodate a changing campaign schedule. Volunteers can receive email letting them know when the candidate will be in their area.

Governments - can use Manifold to deal with disasters such as storms or hurricanes, organize reponses to forest fires, or warn downwind communities of smoke clouds emitted from toxic fires. Military and SAR teams can coordinate movements in peacetime.

Police, Fire and Rescue Departments - Email is a great way to mobilize personnel to help out with emergency searches or a quick response to crime. A quick page can alert personnel of an emergency in progress in their area.

Non-Profit Organizations - of all kinds can use Manifold. Schools can better target alumni for fund raising events in their area, sports organizations can ask for volunteers for a particular event, and environmental organizations can mobilize researchers.

Public Relations Firms - can target media representatives directly related to the path of a new promotional tour for an author or event, while at the same time selecting only those journalists who cover the particular beat involved. 

Direct Marketing Organizations - can target email precisely so that customers who want news that interests them are not annoyed with irrelevant messages or offers that do not interest them. Because Manifold includes over 3,800 demographic data fields on US States, Counties, Metropolitan Areas and Places, virtually any demographic statistic is available to better target communications. The Manifold CD includes a huge array of base maps, and Manifold's FTP servers provide free maps for virtually any purpose.

Manifold is one of the most sophisticated software packages ever developed. It is unique in providing spatial, networking, geometric, database, and statistical GIS capabilities for only $145. Despite the low price, it usually outperforms in capacity, speed, and sophistication packages that sell for thousands of dollars. Manifold can do so because it was created using the software tools of the late '90s and it leverages the new generation of desktop systems. Because Manifold is unusually easy to use for a high-end GIS, many consumers as well as organizations have taken advantage of the low price to use Manifold in simple applications as well as in complex ones.

This press release is aimed at the general press. If you cover computer software and hardware and want all the gory technical details on Manifold System, please contact us for the Manifold Release 4.50 Press Release or check out the Release 4.50 Highlights page  . Visit the web site at www.manifold.net for extensive details.