 |
| |
Got Passion for Sports? SportsMates, Inc. Launches New Social Networking
Service for Sports Fans
NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 2006--SportsMates, Inc. today
announced the launch of SportsMates, a global sports social networking service
and next-generation community. Fresh out a closed beta, SportsMates, available
at http://www.sportsmates.com/,
is the first sports-focused online social networking service dedicated to
providing passionate sports fans a free, one-stop communications platform
that combines: |
| |
| • |
Social networking. SportsMates members can create their
own profiles complete with detailed information about their sporting
interests and build a network of their friends. Advanced search functionality
is provided which allows members to locate and connect with other
sports fans who share similar sporting interests, live in a certain
location, etc. |
| • |
Message boards. SportsMates provides full-featured message
boards enabling fans to discuss the hottest topics. The message boards
contain industry-standard functionality, including sub-forums and
advanced post formatting. |
| • |
Blog aggregation. Over 750 of the Internet's top sports
blogs are currently aggregated by the SportsMates system and this
number is expected to reach over 1,000 by mid-August. SportsMates
members can subscribe to their favorite blogs and bloggers can submit
their blog for inclusion in the system. |
| • |
Link directories. Fans know the best sports websites
and SportsMates allows them to submit their favorites to the SportsMates
directory, where other members can recommend and comment on their
submissions. |
| • |
Fan directories. SportsMates members can browse through
directories of other SportsMates members who like a specific sport,
league, team or player. |
| • |
1000s of groups ("clubs") for sports, leagues,
teams and players from around the world. All the above components
of SportsMates are combined into "clubs" which allow members
to access everything in a single, highly-categorized location. No
other service offers more depth and allows members to connect on general
or more granular levels.
|
| • |
User-created clubs. A true communications platform,
SportsMates allows its members to create their own full-featured clubs
complete with message boards, a link directory, a member directory,
advanced administration and moderation functionality and an internal
email campaign system. A Red Sox fan located in New York, for instance,
can set up a club specifically for Boston fans in Yankee country.
An amateur softball league can set up a club to make communications
and scheduling amongst members more efficient. The possibilities are
endless and the robust SportsMates platform is an ideal solution for
fans, groups and websites that may not have the resources or desire
to build and maintain their own online community in-house. |
|
| |
In addition to providing a suite of standard communications
tools adapted specifically for sports fans, SportsMates has developed a
number of new and innovative features. Chief among these is a proprietary
points, rankings and rewards system. SportsMates members earn points and
a corresponding ranking for positive contributions. Abuse of the system
results in point deductions. SportsMates aims to create one of the most
effective self-policing online communities and all aspects of the service
are tied in to the rankings system.
SportsMates also takes the "friend of a friend" aspect of social
networking to a new level and is the very first service to apply the multi-level
marketing concept to it. When a member recruits his or her friends to join
SportsMates, he or she receives a percentage of the points the friend earns,
a percentage of the points earned by friends that friend recruits and a
percentage of points earned by friends that third friend recruits. If those
friends lose points due to abuse, points are lost at the same percentages.
This encourages members to recruit only friends that they know will make
valuable contributions to the SportsMates service and discourages members
from inviting friends they think may try to cause trouble.
SportsMates plans to reward members for their passion for sports. The company
expects to offer members prizes, special offers, and access to exclusive
contests and discounts from sponsors. The higher a member's ranking, the
greater the rewards.
"Sports is the perfect niche for a social networking service,"
states SportsMates, Inc. CEO Blair Cummins. "There are few subjects
people are more passionate about. It is one of those rare things that unites
people across geography, race, religion and socioeconomic status. The popularity
of more general social networking services like MySpace, Facebook and Bebo
is incredible, however we believe that the long-term success of any social
network is dependent upon providing a tangible reason for users to stick
around. Sports is something that people all over the world are passionate
about and on a daily basis there is always something happening in the sports
world that fans want to follow and communicate about."
SportsMates, Inc. is founded by veterans of the online sports media business.
Co-founders Blair Cummins and Richard Austin have been involved in the development
of popular online sports properties, both official and unofficial, for the
past eight years. Most notably, in 2001 they developed Kournikova.com, the
official website of tennis superstar Anna Kournikova, for Terra Lycos. At
one point Kournikova.com was widely considered to be the most popular official
athlete website in the world and today has over 325,000 registered users.
For their work on Kournikova.com, their company, DomainMinds.com, LLC, was
nominated for the prestigious Computerworld Honors Program in 2002. But
it was the unofficial sports properties Cummins and Austin developed that
commanded the most respect and loyalty from users.
"In our experience, unofficial sports websites have always had the
greatest appeal," Cummins says. "The popularity of fan-created
communities and sports blogs can be attributed to the fact that they're
'real.' Mainstream media is typically sanitized but fans have opinions and
bias. They don't just want to read a summary of the game; they want to examine
things in more depth and express a viewpoint. Whether or not you agree with
somebody's viewpoint, just having one makes everything much more interesting
and leads to the most exciting dialog. SportsMates is looking to harness
the power of fan-created content and provides every passionate fan with
a platform to express opinions and to communicate with other fans. We're
truly a service built by fans, for fans."
Sports fans are invited to register for SportsMates at http://www.sportsmates.com/.
The fan that earns the most points between July 26 and September 30 will
receive $500 worth of sports memorabilia of his or her choice. |
|
|
