The popularity of social networking has grown enormously in recent years and has revolutionized the way professionals connect and communicate with one another. In response to this booming trend, the Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA) launched a social networking site dedicated to professionals in the printing industry. The site, http://www.printjunkie.net, officially launched today July 17, 2008.

The site was born from the idea that the print industry needed an online community to connect with one another regardless of business type, job description or geographic location. This idea was further fueled by the overwhelming response PSDA received when the Print Industry Networking Group was created on LinkedIn. In one month’s time, this online networking group swelled to over 3,000 members from countries around the world. Printers, print consultants, print resellers, designers, print buyers, equipment suppliers, publishers, and more all joined the PSDA LinkedIn group with the single purpose of meeting other industry professionals to share information and best practices.

“Our goal in developing this site was to provide another tool to the printing industry,” explained Peter Colaianni, CAE, executive vice president for PSDA. “We hope that this site is not only a hub for communication, but a place where people connect on a personal level and have fun.”

As almost 25% of companies today block access to social networking sites, PSDA has encouraged their employees to take part in blogging, discussions, and other areas of printjunkie.net. “Building social capital by getting everyone sharing information is invaluable, not only to PSDA, but to our entire industry,” continued Colaianni.

The “Junkies”, as members are referred to, connect with one another through blogs, comment boards, forums, groups, and more. The site also includes features such as videos, tutorials, photos, news, and events. The website’s soft launch produced an early response of over 40 Junkies in two short days. PSDA expects the official launch, with invitations going out to over 40,000 professionals, to be a huge success.