WILKES-BARRE, PA – October 20, 2005 – As former General Counsel and Vice-President of Operations of The Pepperjam Network, Michael Jones, Esq. will assume the role as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer.

Kristopher B. Jones, president & CEO of the company, is eagerly anticipating what is in store for the Pepperjam Network with the switch in positions for Michael. “We are very excited to have Michael in the role of General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer. He is a brilliant individual with exceptional personal skills, and will be a tremendous asset to The Pepperjam Network as our new COO. Michael offers fresh ideas that we look forward to implementing.”

As the Chief Operating Officer of the Pepperjam Network, Michael Jones will assist in the day-to-day operations of pepperjamSEARCH, with a core focus on client relations and recruitment. In addition, as general counsel, Michael will manage all legal issues regarding the company.

“Working in the Search Engine Marketing industry is without question the most fascinating career someone can have. Search is at the very core of the marketing shift occurring in the world today. Assuming the role of Chief Operating Officer at pepperjamSEARCH, the most dynamic player in the search arena, is the opportunity of a lifetime,” commented M. Jones at a recent Press Release party for Pepperjam.

Previously, Michael Jones practiced corporate, technology, and employment law for Rosenn, Jenkins, and Greenwald, LLP, the largest and most respected law firm in Northeastern, Pennsylvania. Jones received a Bachelor of Arts and a Juris Doctorate from Villanova University. In addition, he
previously studied at the University of Oregon and spent time studying abroad at Bristol University in England.

About the Pepperjam Network:

pepperjamSEARCH is a search-engine marketing firm that assists businesses in growing online market share via proven search-engine marketing techniques.

The pepperjamSEARCH team of industry-recognized experts is skilled at driving highly-qualified website traffic through Paid Search-Engine (PPC) Management and Search-Engine Optimization using industry-leading, API-driven PPC Bid Management and Analytics Software.

pepperjamMANAGEMENT is a division of the Pepperjam Network – the world’s largest search-engine marketing super affiliate with over $100 million in annual sales generated to over 2,500 merchant partners, including 1-800-PetMeds, Cingular, ICE.com and igourmet. With a large team of professional, experienced super affiliate managers, pepperjamMANAGEMENT offers clients superior affiliate marketing management solutions.

For more information, please contact Robyn Martin, Director of Public Relations at (877)-796-5700 or robyn@pepperjam.com.

Kristopher Jones, President & CEO of pepperjamSEARCH, makes guest appearance on FOX Television’s, “The Pulse with Corey O’ Brien”

Kristopher Jones, President & CEO of pepperjamSEARCH, profiled in Attaché – the National Magazine of U.S. Airways

Kristopher Jones, President & CEO of pepperjamSEARCH, named to list of "Top 20 Under 40" for Northeastern, Pennsylvania

BY JEFF SONDERMAN – jsonderman@timesshamrock.com

SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA – Business incubators in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are starting to fulfill their goals of launching new high-technology businesses into their communities.

Internet marketing firms in both cities recently took flight after getting help and protection from business incubators.

Those incubators — funded mostly by local chambers of commerce — give counsel and office space to local entrepreneurs.

The incubator at the Scranton Enterprise Center opened in March 2003.

It has several start-ups about to end their three-year leases and launch into the community, Manager Kristine French Augustine said.

In December, it sent Integrated Marketing Solutions — a strategic Internet marketing firm specializing in the travel and tourism sector — to a new home at 1328 Capouse Ave.

The business entered the incubator in February 2004 with 24 employees, and left with 87 employees.

“They have grown to the point where they needed to find their own space,” Ms. French Augustine said.

“They were really crammed in there like sardines.”

In Luzerne County, Internet marketing company pepperjamSEARCH has moved into expanded office space in the Innovation Center @ Wilkes-Barre.

“When we first came into the Innovation Center in June 2004, we had one employee — that was me,” Pepperjam founder Kristopher Jones said. Now the company has 19 employees and a national client base.

“The Innovation Center provided Pepperjam with a support system in the early days, and still does today,” Mr. Jones said.

“It is tapping into Northeastern Pennsylvania’s burgeoning growth in technology firms.”

John Augustine III, director of the Innovation Center, is preparing a new marketing plan to attract more entrepreneurs.

“The incubators are open, they are working, and there is room for people to come in,” Mr. Augustine said.

©The Times-Tribune 2006

Pepperjam Announces Co-Sponsorship of the 2006 Linkshare Executive Summit in San Francisco, California: Company Introduces the Next Generation Pepperjam.com Website During Linkshare Partnermaker Session

Keystone College, in conjunction with Tunkhannock Area High School, will host a “Business Leaders are Students Today” conference on March 1.

01/29/2006

The one-day conference is designed to educate and inspire high school students to become entrepreneurs. It is being sponsored by the Keystone College Students in Free Enterprise team, Future Business Leaders of America Region 27 and Wise Solutions, Inc.

Kristopher Jones, president and CEO of pepperjamSEARCH.com, a Wilkes-Barre-based search-engine, will deliver the keynote address.

In May, Mr. Jones was recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year by Bank of America, the Great Valley Technology Alliance and several chambers of commerce in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

He received his bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree from Villanova University and a juris doctorate from Albany Law School.

Topics to be covered include entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills, the economic environment, business and market trends, SWOT analysis, business plans and commerce on eBay. There will also be a panel discussion with young entrepreneurs.

“We recognize the importance of entrepreneurship in the local area, and we are committed to providing education and support for entrepreneurs of all ages,” said Lisa Marie Hall, Keystone College SIFE team adviser.

The conference is open to students within the FBLA Region 27, including Athens, Canton, Elk Lake, Forest City, Mountain View, Sayre, Troy, Tunkhannock, Towanda, and Wyalusing school districts and the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center.

The $15 registration fee includes lunch. Call Lisa Marie Hall at 945-8009 for more information.

©The Times-Tribune 2007

By TIM GULLA
Citizens’ Voice Staff Writer
Friday, 03 February 2006

Kris Jones has been doing what others may have thought was impossible years ago: running a fast-growing high-tech company in the heart of downtown Wilkes-Barre.

The company started from scratch just 17 months ago. Jones’ 24th employee will start Monday and he projects hiring his 50th worker before year’s end. The success of Jones’ company, the Internet marketing and consulting firm pepperjamSEARCH, isn’t just a nice story, federal, state and local officials say. It’s a sign of the times and something northeastern Pennsylvania needs to embrace.

That’s why the investment of $22 million in federal and state funding to help the region push a Wall Street West initiative is being looked at by local economic development officials as a landmark opportunity for a region trying to evolve from its coal mining, steel producing and manufacturing heritage.

The federal government announced this week northeastern Pennsylvania was one of 13 regions nationwide selected to receive a $15 million grant aimed at helping them attain specific economic development goals. Ninety-seven regions in the country applied for the funding and all had different goals.

In northeastern Pennsylvania’s case, the region wants to become a back-up data site for Wall Street firms and financial services institutions, serving as a hedge against market interruptions such as the terrorist attack on New York City in September 2001. Such facilities here would mean good-paying and highly skilled jobs, as well as the need to provide well-trained workers.

Much of the $15 million grant, which will be doled out over three years, will be spent training the region’s workforce and preparing the next generation of workers for the needs of such companies. A proposed budget shows about $2.8 million a year would be funneled directly into training and education programs, while a total of $1.25 million would be earmarked for business development, attraction and retention programs.

Pennsylvania is contributing about $7 million toward the Wall Street West effort, including $6 million for the installation of fiber optic cables and creation of the infrastructure needed to turn northeastern Pennsylvania into an electronic data center. About $1 million in additional state funding will be earmarked for retraining programs, regional educational partnerships and dual-enrollment programs for high school students to gain college credits.

“This is not a case where the federal government will give money and walk away,” assured Emily Stover DeRocco, assistant secretary of employment and training at the U.S. Department of Labor.
DeRocco was in Wilkes-Barre on Friday to meet with backers of the initiative as well as to look at new technology companies such as pepperjamSEARCH.

The U.S. Department of Labor assembled a panel of experts to monitor and advise participants in the 13 regional projects. The projects also will be measured on how they affect job creation, unemployment rates and earnings, DeRocco said.
It won’t work, however, unless all of the participants work together. Educational institutions, from “K to gray” must be involved in transforming the region, she said.

“There is a broad consensus our young people must have a stronger foundation in math and science to compete in the 21st century economy,” DeRocco said. Additionally, older workers transitioning out of traditional jobs need opportunities to learn skills for the new jobs taking their place, she said.

Higher education also will play a major role because 63 percent of all new jobs require post-secondary education, she said. Yet only 30 percent of the U.S. population has college degrees.

“The truth is the region has very qualified, very talented and well-educated young people,” said Jones, from PepperjamSearch. “The truth also is they have moved out of the area in the past to find jobs.”
His company isn’t the only one providing reasons for young people to stay. Other high-tech companies such as Solid Cactus in Wilkes-Barre, Babyage in Hanover Township and iGourmet in West Pittston are growing here, too. “This (federal) money hopefully will encourage (other) companies to move here and also will be a catalyst for more investment in technology,” Jones said.

The Citizens’ Voice and the Standard-Speaker are partners in the Northeast Pennsylvania News Alliance.