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PORTLAND, Ore., Feb 05, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- dotCal.com (dotCal), an Internet service that enables businesses and individuals to share and publish desktop and webtop calendar information across a variety of platforms, is now available. dotCal is compatible with most calendar programs, including Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCal, Yahoo Calendar and Mozilla Thunderbird, as well as RSS feed readers and mobile calendars, including the iPhone. Individual subscriptions are free, with monthly business subscriptions starting at $29.

Parent company Neutral Space launched a beta version of dotCal in late 2009. Beta testers included Mt. Hood Skibowl, Portland Farmers Market, The Dundee Hills Wine Growers Association, Oregon's Children's Theater, Dove Lewis Animal Hospital, Mercy Corps, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon, Stoller Vineyards, Domaine Serene, The Rose Festival Association, and Fenouil Restaurant in Portland, Ore. To date, more than 40 businesses are using dotCal to share event information online with their customers.

"dotCal does for calendar sharing what e-mail did for personal communication," said founder and CEO Danton Mendell. "With this new online platform, we've created a new 'business to consumer' marketing channel by directly connecting businesses to the calendars of their best customers."

Mendell, a serial entrepreneur, has successfully built and sold several large companies, including 1-800-Support, a leading technology support outsourcing company that was acquired in August 2000 and ultimately sold to ACS. Prior to founding 1-800-Support, Mendell spent six years with Pacific Dataware, a technology design and training company, as president and CEO. Mendell also served as senior systems designer for Intel Corporation and Lawrence Livermore Labs in the early 1980s. Mendell received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Clarkson University and a master's degree in electrical engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara.

Case Study I: Mt. Hood Skibowl

Mt. Hood Skibowl, America's largest night ski area, had an existing, public-facing events calendar that was hard to update and wasn't user friendly. The calendar also lacked social networking and viral capabilities, providing little connectivity to its customers. Robb Hutson of Mt. Hood Skibowl realized that if he replaced the resort's current events calendar with the dotCal widget, he could easily add time-sensitive information to the calendar, as well as make instant updates. Today, by utilizing dotCal's calendar widget, Skibowl fans can subscribe to the entire events calendar, or select single events. The new dotCal calendar also allows Skibowl's loyal customer base to virally share event happenings at the mountain through social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as through personal calendar sharing networks, as dotCal connects to many of the calendar programs and social networks being used today.

Case Study II: Domaine Serene

Domaine Serene's previous online calendar was often out of date and difficult to update with upcoming events. Additionally, there was no way for customers to stay aware of the winery's events without visiting the Web site every time. Marketing manager Allan Carter felt it was important to share a constant flow of event information with the winery's followers. The new calendar, as provided by the dotCal widget, is easily synced with subscriber calendar programs, like Outlook and Google Calendar, and is able to remind the Domaine Serene fan base of exclusive wine tastings and events nationwide. dotCal also allows fans to share the information on social networking sites, like Twitter and Facebook. Now followers can easily view, print and subscribe to calendar updates, no matter their technology comfort level.

About dotCal

dotCal is an Internet technology start-up founded by Danton Mendell, the founder of 1-800-Support and Pacific Dataware. dotCal is an Internet marketing service that enables desktop and webtop calendar users to communicate event information across a variety of business and consumer calendar programs, similar to e-mail, but directly into their own calendars. dotCal allows users to connect with friends and families, and enables businesses to communicate calendar events directly to customers and their social networks, in simple, easy-to-use formats. For more information or to get started using dotCal, please visit http://www.dotCal.com or call 888-545-7846.

SOURCE: dotCal

LANE PR 
Katie Stringer, 503-546-7877 
Katie@lanepr.com