NEW YORK, January 7 /PRNewswire/ --

- Richard Branson, Senator Ted Kennedy, Richard Meier, Former President
of Ireland Mary Robinson and Jacques Pepin Among First Big Thinkers to Mount
Virtual Dialogue on Limitless Range of Topics Spanning Sociology to
Spirituality to Souffles

The launch of Big Think (www.BigThink.com), the first online venue for
the growing global conversation about where we are and where we're headed,
was announced today by co-founders Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins. Taking
cues from elite private institutions and conferences that convene thought
leaders from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives to swap ideas about
pressing global issues, Big Think adapts these models to the more egalitarian
Web medium to give the public a voice in an ever-expanding virtual dialogue.

Combining journalistically produced interviews with user-generated
content, and playing both moderator and mediator, Big Think bridges what was
an evident gap between credible, informed editorial opinion and the less
controlled freestyle of online social media - thus creating a dynamic and
wholly unique breed of engagement platform. January 7 marks the activation of
the site's beta version; as the site evolves, so, too, will its networking
capabilities and resources.

"We live in a global age, and yet there is no central, global forum to
exchange, discuss and debate the big issues and ideas of our time", says Big
Think co-founder Victoria Brown. "Big Think is a needed social endeavor that
will allow an engaged global audience to share the same platform as leading
voices from around the world. Big Think is driven by the conviction that this
conversation should be open across all geographies, boundaries and
jurisdictions - not limited to one class, rank or station."

Big Think's already extensive body of content and discussion (over 100
people interviewed; over 100 hours of footage banked) ranges from alternative
energy to the subprime mortgage crisis, excerpting interviews with eclectic
personalities and pundits - academics to politicos to cultural icons. The
site's editors arrange the produced content per topic and idea, and users are
encouraged to contribute opinions, ideas and rebuttals through their own
video, picture, text and audio submissions. Prominence of issues addressed on
the site is determined by their popularity, as well as by editorial
selectivity. Ultimately, topics are sorted into one of two main site
categories: "Meta" and "Physical." "Physical" comprises traditional issues
like Policy and Politics, Arts and Culture, and Science and Technology, while
"Meta" encompasses more abstract philosophical issues like Wisdom,
Inspiration, and Faith and Beliefs.

The result is a free-flowing exchange of ideas from contributors, famous
and anonymous alike, neatly arranged in tabbed, linear formats. At site
launch, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Gov. Mitt Romney, entrepreneur-extraordinaire
Richard Branson, author Naomi Klein, musician Moby, Supreme Court Justice
Stephen Breyer, master chef Jacques Pepin, Dr. Rick Warren and attorney and
professor Alan Dershowitz are front-and-center, proffering candid insights on
topics spanning the presidential primaries to prisoner torture to the
essential ingredients one needs in a cupboard.

Sen. Ted Kennedy on his worldview (excerpted from Kennedy's Big Think
interview):

"I think there's a real recognition that with democracy, we have no
guarantee as a nation that we're gonna have future prosperity. We have no
guarantee as a nation we're gonna have future security. And we have no
guarantee as a nation we're gonna have future hope, and opportunity, and
progress. Those values have to be fought for every single day, and I think
that's a responsibility of citizenship ... The only way, really, our
Democracy is gonna work is if people take the interest, take the time,
involve themselves in the political life of our country and the world. It's
enormously important."

The value of Big Think as an emerging media property is reflected by a
formidable group of financial backers who share the founders' vision for
raising the quality of media by bringing great minds to a broad, global
audience. These include Peter Thiel (PayPal, Facebook and Clarium Capital),
Larry Summers (Former Secretary of the Treasury, Former President of
Harvard), Tom Scott (Nantucket Nectars and Plum TV), and Gary David Goldberg
(creator of Family Ties and Spin City). David Frankel, South African venture
capitalist, is lead investor.

A portion of Big Think's value is derived from its design as a
cutting-edge commercial platform, offering advertisers an array of
opportunities for visibility and creative integration of corporate
perspective in the form of banner ads, interstitials, sponsored content and
featured interviews with executives and principals.

About the Creators of Big Think

Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins are the entrepreneurs and creative team
driving Big Think. Former producers for PBS, Brown and Hopkins have produced
hundreds of interviews with leading intellectuals, political figures and
cultural icons.

Brown is a graduate of Harvard Business School; Hopkins, a graduate of
Harvard College. They are supported by a full Internet production staff.

New York and San Francisco-based interactive media development and design
firm Code and Theory - specialists in creating compelling online destinations
and interactive experiences - created Big Think's user interface and back-end
content management system.

Web site: http://www.BigThink.com