Boston-based Gather.com, the site for grownups and the celebs they idolize, secured $10 million in funding from Hearst and McGraw-Hill, along with Pilot House Ventures and some angel investors.

The funds will be used to expand internationally as well to attract more top-shelf participants to the service, Red Herring reports. The social-networking site brings well-known personalities into the fold to discuss a wide range of topics. "We focus on really building engaged informed communities around topics that groups would like to explore, like politics, food, wine, travel, and health," CEO Tom Gerace explains.

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh was on the site on Thursday, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is scheduled to appear next week. Gather.com has also featured several New York Times bestselling authors in the past year.

This is the second $10 million funding round for the site, and third overall. Gather.com has been earning revenue through sponsorships and advertising from Volvo, American Express, Starbucks and Brookstone, among others. The first ad from General Mills went live last week, making General Mills the first consumer packaged goods company to advertise on the site.