Website tackles consumer issues

Winjje, pronounced ‘whinge’, a new social networking site developed in Sydney, launched last week.

The site is a microblogging tool like Twitter which allows users to publish short posts of up to 156 characters with a focus on providing a forum for users to complain about social or consumer issues.

Site founder Robert Heard is a neurologist and neuroscientist who sees Winjje as more focused than other microblogging sites, and acknowledges that a forum for venting can serve as a form of stress relief.

“It can be enormously reassuring to discover that others do feel the same way,” Heard said, explaining that Winjje’s Campaigns function also sets it apart from sites such as Twitter.

When enough users post about a given issue it will become a ‘Winjje Campaign’, allowing users to become involved or simply track the issue through to resolution.

Winjje allows campaign members to share contact information about target organisations and also provides these organisations with a right of reply, allowing them to engage through the site itself or suggesting ways that campaign members might engage with the organisation directly.

info: Winjje is available across Australia at www.winjje.com