COLUMBUS, OH — August 19, 2009 — Brand Thunder LLC (http://www.brandthunder.com), the custom browser specialists, announced today the availability of the Columbus Dispatch Boom!. The first product of its kind to serve the audience of a daily newspaper, this browser add-on is designed to strengthen relationships and enhance loyalty between The Columbus Dispatch and its readers and subscribers.

The Dispatch Boom, available at http://www.dispatch.com, customizes the user’s Internet experience by enabling seamless and fast access to Dispatch news stories and content. Users will find links to key sections in the paper, a newsreader and a sidebar with news summaries for the Buckeyes and Blue Jackets plus tools for reaching The Dispatch and managing subscriptions. It also features the Surf Canyon search enhancement to help users find Dispatch coverage of news and events. Any search for news terms, regardless of the search service being used, will return Dispatch stories at the top of the results page helping users to quickly find their paper’s coverage of a story. The Boom! offers two distinct looks: one with a view of the Columbus skyline and the other with a look into the ‘Shoe, Ohio State University’s football stadium.

“There’s strong appeal to reading the morning paper and there’s an equally strong desire for the immediacy of news over the Internet,” said Phil Pikelny, Vice President for Dispatch Digital & Chief Marketing Officer at The Dispatch Printing Company. “A Brand Thunder custom browser is a great way for our readers to stay informed when online.”

“The browser offers several ways to get breaking news to users, which makes it ideal for a newspaper and its readers,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder, noting that Dispatch.com is the No. 1 local Web site in the Columbus market. “We’re happy to serve our hometown paper which we hope will be only the first among many newspapers to offer this exciting software to their readers and subscribers.”

Brand Thunder’s browser Booms! are free, lightweight, active customizations that can include themes, toolbars, sidebars and other content or functionality.

About Brand Thunder:
Formed in April 2007, Brand Thunder creates custom-browser experiences. Brands enjoy a more persistent connection to their Internet consumer through the custom browser Boom!, which increases website visits and revenue. Through a software installation, end users change the look and feel of their Internet browser into an immersive experience from their favorite sports team, entertainment franchise or Internet site. The custom browser Booms! feature official logos, colors, content and functionality, but can also extend capabilities including video, music players or other Internet widgets. Current business partners and clients include the Huffington Post, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Universal Music and Yahoo!. Samples found at http://brandthunder.com/gallery/.

“Not invented here” has long held a negative connotation. I’ve been involved in my share of corporate development efforts that ignore marketplace solutions and pursue an internal one only to see the project stagger and fall. I’ve also used it as an excuse for obstacles encountered when dealing with other companies. In those respects, it’s alive and well.

When you’re a lean startup, however, you can’t afford to ignore something because it wasn’t developed from within. You’re trying to serve your clients and end users in the best way possible as fast as possible in the run toward sustainability.

Fortunately, there are many examples on the web where “not invented here” has produced beautiful results. Think of all the mashups where content and functionality from multiple sites are combined (you can find fun examples at Mashup Awards).

For the web, it’s morphed into the “I want some of what’s over there” syndrome, and that’s often all it takes to start pulling it into your product. Looking at Brand Thunder’s own efforts, we did that with Surf Canyon (who was just recognized by Search Engine Journal). We don’t view ourselves as just creating a more personal and customized browser experience; we’re trying to create a better one. Regardless of how badly we want to do something, we simply don’t have the time nor resources to do it all. And, it doesn’t make sense to reinvent a good product when it’s sitting “over there.”

When your resources are fully tapped out developing your core offering, finding something of value that was not invented here is a gift. We’ll continue to look for relationships that can help us improve our product at a rapid rate. And hopefully we won’t lock ourselves into mindsets that limit us.