added across the country. To become a member, visit www.socialtrak.com

SocialTrak, (www.socialtrak.com) a new social network and online community for those who want to connect with friends, professionals, and potential customers in their local area, has launched. SocialTrak is designed specifically to locate, communicate, and network with others in a member’s geographic area or with people who engage in similar activities, hobbies, casual or cultural pursuits. Members can create multiple profiles, network for business purposes, search for jobs, post classified ads, upload photo albums, and establish or maintain friendships.

Membership is completely free. Donations of $.25 cents will be made for each new member that signs up to SocialTrak. New users will be able to choose from 12 different charities.

Jonah Lupton, SocialTrak founder, said, “Connecting locally is a more powerful and effective way to network. That’s why SocialTrak takes social networking and social media closer to your local area. SocialTrak offers customized networks based on geography, personal interests, and career fields. We are launching in New England, a region that offers so much professionally, academically, culturally and socially. Our goal is to simplify the social networking experience and enable people to make more valuable personal and business connections.“

Initially, SocialTrak will focus on geographic areas around New England including Boston, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The company will expand the service into 25-plus U.S. cities. SocialTrak also offers a variety of online communities that bring together all kinds of people including entrepreneurs, golfers, estate planners and much more. Unlike other social networks, members can create as many profiles as they want while still controlling the privacy settings of each profile.

SocialTrak strives to become the “one stop shop“ where members can link and manage other accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr, as well as blogs and RSS feeds. The company is developing new applications to increase user experience including web conferencing, email marketing and event planning.

Small businesses, professional organizations, and educational institutions that want to set up their own privately branded networks can partner with SocialTrak to customize, host and manage these networks.

SocialTrak was originally conceptualized when Mr. Lupton wanted to establish a social intranet in his residential complex. Currently self-funded, SocialTrak plans to begin monetizing site traffic through advertising and business partnerships.