combines a real time search engine with a user's own social network. The idea is that people use their network of friends to find more relevant answers to questions from the people they trust most.
Askpeopleyouknow.com hopes that by closely integrating real time search with networks of friends it can attract people to its service in the most competitive of digital markets where the likes of Twitter and Facebook are already doing much of what it promises.
Founded by ex-AOL senior managers David Gilbey and Mike Clowes, the site is backed by private investors including Bazalgette who is the former chief creative officer of Endemol.
Bazalgette said it was the idea of better-focused searches from trusted sources that attracted him as an investor.
"AskPeopleYouKnow offers this. The network effect is powerful. By including friends, friends of friends, people we work with, parents at children's schools, people living in our area, there is always going to be someone who can answer our questions."
Other investors in AskPeopleYouKnow include: Geoff Thomas, head of Microsoft Communications, Asia; Neil Balnaves, chairman, the Balnaves Foundation; and Nick Monaghan, Active Hotels.