OnlySimchas.com Brings Celebration to the Web

HACKENSACK, NJ - November 14, 2000 -- OnlySimchas.com announced today the posting of its 100th Jewish celebration.

Enjoyed the wedding yesterday? Missed the engagement party last night? Couldn't make the Bris early this morning? Don't worry, you can see the entire album on OnlySimchas.com!

As the first online photo network where the public can post digital pictures of recent Simchas (Hebrew for Celebrations), OnlySimchas has seen tremendous growth since its launch, less than three months ago, on September 1. The site is the brainchild of Dov Katz and his wife Shira, students at Columbia University in Morningside Heights, NY. Their inspiration to take digital photos at friends parties and upload them to the internet, thus making them available immediately to those who could not attend was an instant hit. Requests came in from all over campus and Greater NY to add new celebrations to the site.

And so, along with three friends, OnlySimchas was created. Since its launch in September they have seen exponential growth, with thousands of page views daily. What began as a handful of engagement parties has grown to 148 various Simchas, from weddings to births, thanks to online software developed by Katz that allows anyone with digital images to upload them onto the site.

Believe it or not, the programmers and business developers for OnlySimchas are all under 25 years old. In this age of technology, these youngsters are proving that the Internet can provide good, wholesome browsing if utilized properly. The site's appealing design and user-friendliness are on par with the web's most popular e-commerce, content-driven, and search engine sites. Katz and his partner, Michael Novich, both students in Columbia University, have developed many popular professional sites under the aegis of MSIDG, the website development company they created in 1998.

Dov and Shira, currently living in Teaneck, NJ have converted the second bedroom of their apartment to OnlySimchas headquarters. As late as 11 PM they can both be found in this high-tech room scanning in the latest engagement news or newest birth. Counting the thousands of page views and reading the joyous message board, they don't mind the late hours. "The site's statistics tell us that we are spreading nachas (Yiddish for pride) to parents, grandparents, and relatives throughout the world. It's a great feeling."

Shira's brother, Doron Katz is one of the business developers for OnlySimchas. He is also a fourth year student in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. When asked how he finds time in his day for this venture, Doron says, "I push myself because I love being a part of something big, very big which makes a lot of people very happy."

Future plans for the group include developing an online registry, resource pages, and a reverse auction. Strategic alliances have already been established with e-frames, Artscroll publishing, and other online Judaism-related sites. Currently, registered users can also take advantage of WeddingWare, a program that allows affair planners to create a guest list, arrange tables, monitor thank-you cards, and print labels. Also, popular is the Service Directory, a growing list of the finest caterers, halls, bands, and florists.

The developers predict that each new Simcha entry adds 400 new visitors to the website resulting in a minimum of 5,000 page views. To date, many of the viewers are out-of-town relatives, often as far as Israel, who are unable to attend the celebration. Katz sometime jokes, "If our forefather Jacob would've had a digital camera, he alone could have posted 12 birth albums."

CONTACT: biz@onlysimchas.com