If you think social media in sports is only booming in the United States, think again.
Europe’s first sports social media site is now up and running, sportpost.com. A free site that combines the best videos, blogs, news, and debates from the world of sports is now in one central location, where fans have the ability to engage and converse with one another about various topics in sports.
“Sportpost.com aims to be the world’s premier sports social media site,” said Managing Director of sportpost.com, Peter Janes. “The site is a fun, interactive alternative to traditional sports media and news sites. To date, fans have been on the sidelines looking in. They have never really had a voice or the ability to create and share sports content before. Being completely independent, we can work with all athletes, brand owners, and media partners to give our users total access and choice. We are confident sportpost.com will change sports consumption habits significantly.”
Janes, Paul Stewart, and Charlie Cooper were the primary contributors to the creation of the site, as they took part in a 15 month development project in anticipation of revolutionizing the consumption of content amongst sport fans globally to promote and share the best material in the world of sports.
The purpose of the site was simple, sports fans often find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to content, but now it is there turn to take control of their own fate. With the creation of sportpost.com, the creators hope to catch up with the social media trends that have already blossomed in the United States, as what was once a straight-laced manner presentation of sports media in Europe, now hopes to evolve into the now accepted nature of social media. Sportpost.com is different than merely allowing an athlete to create their own website, as it is a more cost effective and targeted alternative to reaching passionate fans. The site already has exclusive deals to publish content from England rugby player, James Haskell, West Ham striker, Carlton Cole, as well as content from Nike Football and Red Bull.
Sportpost acts as a guide to point viewers to various sites, allowing them to gain access to a multitude of sources all over the world 24 hours a day. Hence the company slogan “fans take charge,” the content of the site primarily consists of work created by the fan themselves. Fans have the option of sharing information on the site through video posting, blog writing, or forum discussions. Sport fans are essentially the engine or brain to the site, as their material is what allows others access to some of the best sports links on the web.
“The large media companies will never share their content with each other and they push their own offerings to the user,” said Janes. “Sportpost offers access and choice for the user and they have the ability to pick and search for the content they want. Fans are the most important people in sport and without them nothing would exist so they should be in charge.”
The site was originally developed with the intentions of serving the Commonwealth nation in sports such as soccer, rugby, and cricket, but sportpost.com has already accessed its stream into 202 countries around the world. In the near future the site will be set by geographical region, so fans in a particular area can receive the content that should appeal most to them.
Janes has found out that the most popular topics on the site are those that traditional media companies are reluctant to cover. A large part of sports is the entertainment industry and sportpost.com is dedicated to getting behind the scenes content that can provide value to its viewers.
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If anyone out there would like to know more about the project please get in touch with me Peter Janes at info@sportpost.com many thanks