Press Releases
ALEXANDRIA, VA (October 28, 2008) – The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) today announced the launch of Fishington – a new online community tailored specifically to boaters and anglers. Fishington, which is hosted on the TakeMeFishing.org Web site in the “Community” section or found at Fishington.com, allows members to send messages to each other, share boating and fishing photos, make comments on their favorite boating and fishing spots and much more.
“Fishington helps support our goals to generate new Anglers’ Legacy Pledges, increase time spent on TakeMeFishing.org, drive Discover Boating DVD requests and increase fishing license sales,” said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. “Ultimately, this helps us build critical funds for fish and wildlife management through the Sport Fish Restoration program.”
According to research from media communications agency Universal McCann, 57 percent of people on the Web have joined a social network. And according to Southwick Associates, 34 percent of anglers stated that Web sites are their primary source of fishing information and entertainment in 2008, compared with about 24 percent in 2007 (up 10 percent).
Recognizing these statistics and the increasing popularity of social network sites like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, RBFF decided to leverage the approaches from these platforms to create Fishington. Fishington allows members to:
- Create a profile
- Find and add friends
- Create and join groups
- Create and post comments on message boards
- Add and share photos and videos
- Save favorite hotspots from our interactive map tool
“Now more than ever, social networking is an important element of any communications strategy and so I’m excited RBFF has created an authentic place for boating and fishing enthusiasts to connect and share information,” said RBFF Board Chairman and National Marine Manufacturers Association President Thom Dammrich. “Fishington is an ideal way for visitors to TakeMeFishing.org to tap into their peers, gather insight and share experiences, creating an environment they’ll want to return to time and again and adding substantial value to a visitor’s experience on the site.”
RBFF stakeholders can use Fishington to create profiles and connect with other local businesses, clubs and individuals for their own promotional efforts. By maintaining a profile, stakeholders have the opportunity to gather feedback, understand and recruit new members or customers, generate increased traffic to their Web sites, spark interest in their programs and products, invite discussion and encourage members or customers to share their experiences.
Fishington is directly linked to all of the content on TakeMeFishing.org, including the 12,000 places to boat and fish. RBFF will launch promotional Web banners in the coming weeks. The very latest information about Fishington can be found on RBFF.org.
About RBFF
RBFF is a nonprofit organization established in 1998 to increase participation in recreational angling and boating. RBFF helps people discover, share and protect the legacy of boating and fishing through national outreach programs including the Take Me Fishing™ campaign and Anglers’ Legacy™.
703-778-5156
