Western Union launches Network Challenge to mark its 160th
Anniversary
SINGAPORE, Aug. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Western Union, one
of the world's most globally connected companies, is celebrating
its 160th anniversary by launching the Western Union Network
Challenge at www.westernunionworld.com/yourworld to identify
the world's most networked individual.
(Photo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2011/08/17/20110817506134.html
)
Western Union has created Your World, a new interactive online
application that visually brings to life users' Facebook
connections to their friends across the globe. The application also
gives users a score ("World Index") that shows how globally
connected they are. Your World users can compare their ranking
against their Facebook friends, against people in their country and
against the rest of the world.
Each individual's score will contribute to the score of the
country where they live; meaning every single country in the world
is in the running to prove itself the world's most geographically
connected nation.
"Over 70% of the world's Internet population have now visited a
social networking/blogging site, and Internet users are spending an
average of almost six hours per month on social media sites(1),"
said Drina Yue, Western Union's Managing Director and Senior Vice
President for Asia Pacific.
"This is evident that building personal networks and maintaining
strong ties with family and friends is a natural habit for most of
us. Western Union is offering an opportunity to all nations in the
world to prove to be the most geographically connected."
Your World has been created to celebrate the unique status of
Western Union, which has an enormous global presence of
approximately 470,000(2) Agent locations in 200 countries and
territories.
Fifteen days since the site was launched, 422,110 individuals
from 206 countries and territories visited www.westernunionworld.com .
Western Union President and CEO, Hikmet Ersek, said:
"When we were thinking how best to celebrate our landmark 160th
anniversary and the role we play in connecting people across the
globe, Your World made perfect sense.
"We're incredibly proud that people across the globe have been
inviting us to be part of their lives for 160 years. Today, we're
online, on mobile, on the phone, around the corner in approximately
470,000(2) locations and around the clock. That gives us a
privileged and unique perspective on the world.
"We wanted to find a way to give consumers their own bird's eye
view of their personal network in the world. As well as being a fun
way to celebrate the power of human connectivity, Your World is
going to create some fascinating insights, and perhaps encourage
more of us to reach out to our fellow global citizens," Ersek
said.
Your World is live today - go to www.westernunionworld.com/yourworld and type in
individual Facebook login details to see individual global
connections and play a part in contributing to the own country's
status as the most geographically connected nation in the
world.
(1): Source: The Nielsen Company's Asia Pacific Social Media
Report 2010.
(2): Network data as of 30 June 2011, inclusive of the Vigo and
Orlandi
Valuta branded services.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global
payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago
Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment
services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with
fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around
the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. The
Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services are offered
through a combined network of approximately 470,000 agent locations
in 200 countries and territories (network data as of June 30,
2011). In 2010, The Western Union Company completed 214 million
consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving US$76 billion
of principal between consumers, and 405 million business payments.
For more information, visit http://www.westernunion.com .
SOURCE The Western Union Company