Need to know what’s on? Pling!

A search engine with a difference is soon to go live to help young people get out and about. Called “plings”, a mash-up of the words “places” and “things”, the service is soon to be available across Manchester with the aim of “giving young people trusted information on places to go and things to do”.
There’s already a website , blog and a north west RSS news feed and Twitter service running but, despite all this activity, a spokesman told me the official launch won’t take place until July.
He said: “Plings is for young people, parents, policy makers, local government information providers, third sector activity providers and youth service practitioners.
“Information about places to go and things to do for young people is very difficult to find. “
Plings is being hatched by the Manchester-based social media consultancy Substance which has been commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). After the launch it will rolled out in a total of 22 local authority areas.