Where Are The Sports Social Networks?

check out www.huddlers.com - we're going to be changing the life of the everyday athlete

Hey, I'm rolling out testing for a sports social network I built this week http://sportzdek.com. Let me know if you are interested and feel free to invite anyone you want. The more people on it the more fun it'll be and leave me your feedback.

Try www.sportsnak.com

Check out http://www.fanz.com! I think they did a great job of organizing sports into a social environment. Sports fans can literally peer into and communicate with anything on the net including their favorite teams facebook and twitter. It also has a cool social posting game called Gameday Rival that allows fan on fan posting and banter during gameday. All in all I think sports fans are looking for a way to communicate with other fans on facebook and twitter without having to actually go to facebook and twitter to do it. It's also really hard to find the actual official pages on the large networks. Fanz.com looks like twitter but the feed is like facebook so it's very familiar to the user base, and all the sports teams official pages are located in a nav bar at the top so it's easy to get to your favorite team and their fanbase.

There is another one I recently came across that is pretty cool. http://www.hecklesports.com. It's pretty interesting and has a lot of cool tools, but what I think is the cool thing about it is it actually allows the user to put their own sports and teams onto the system. Seems more based around the user than others. I like it, and it's different than facebook/twitter because I can talk and hear about just sports on the site, I don't have to filter through all of the "I'm at starbucks" and "watching so and so aweful show"...

mvpvault.com is a facebook for sports. Has hockey, soccer and cricket for now, but I think it is exactly what you've been describing in your article.

Sam, I agree what you are saying. The solution should add value to existing social networks, namely Twitter and Facebook. Also, the network should integrate tightly with Facebook and Twitter.
Our team is building social network for sports fans, which is tightly focused on the event time interaction between friends and other fans. As you know, intensive commenting on match events can be considered heavy spamming :) Separating the discussion is not the only benefit, but we can also provide many special features, like posting images, video chat,...
When we launched the service earlier this year, we decided that we won't build yet another network. That's why the service is built on the top of Facebook: You can access it with your Facebook account, the friends on the service are your Facebook friends, etc. Also, the service can be easily embedded on Facebook fan pages.
(Please, check out our service: http://sofanatics.com . The service is also available on the fan page of Chelsea FC: http://www.facebook.com/ChelseaFC?v=app_112263568811221 )

Great topic and great responses.
Jason raised the point that if sports social networks have any chance of being successful, they have to offer something that a fan can't get anywhere else. I think this is the crux of the matter. Many sports have built vibrant communities on facebook and twitter through great interactions and fantastic content.
Do teams/sports have the resources to great even more compelling content to entice fans away/"upgrade" from the facebooks and twitters of this world to customised social media platforms? I'm not sure they do.
At a conference in Sydney in July, Pedro Duarte of Real Madrid outlined their philosophy in the social media and mobile space as "To be where the user is, using the channels that the users uses". Real Madrid has te 3rd largets facebook presence globally.
On the other hand Dan Harbison of the Portland Trailblazers gave a very compelling case for the customised approach. One of the advantages that NBA and MLB (and possibly European football) is the length of season and sheer volume of games related content opportunities. But do you squirrel that content away from where the masses are?
Where a real opportunity lies is in how you manage members/season pass holders, those customers who attend week in week out, and are the lifeblood of most sports. As Jason points out the data exists on the in house CRM system. You most likely have their email address. Enticing these customers to share their match day experience in an environment that is integrated with the CRM system is certainly worth exploring. After all, these most valuable of customers can be lost in the great ocean of facebook. How many of Real Madrids 4.7m facebook fans are season pass holders. I'd say less than 0.1%. What % of fan-derived revenue comes from this small group of fans. I'd say a lot.

I think because there isn't a clear cut sports social network that the opportunity is still there. Jason makes a ton of great points why no one else has been able to pull it off. People definitely use facebook and twitter to sound off and if someone successfully pulls it off, facebook and twitter will definitely have to be integrated and integrated extremely well. I do think people like to identify with a sports community whether it be a forum or network they currently use. They want to be where people like them are.
Like Jason says the teams obviously have a huge advantage and aren't really taking advantage of it. Someone will figure out the right game mechanics, give enough incentives, and build the best mobile technology to pull it off. It may also be something like a foursquare for sports.

I'm glad you brought this topic up. I have a ton of thoughts about this topic and am constantly asking the same question. Also, looking forward to hearing what others think.
As Alan pointed out, there are a few (I'd also add mycolts.net) to the list that have been relatively successful. The problem with most of the sports social networks that have launched/failed is that they didn't offer enough unique benefits, had poor community management practices and poor use of game mechanics to motivate people to participate. And they had ad-supported business models that usually didn't work because they could never get enough traffic. Lastly, they had no connection to offline fan gatherings and meetups.
I still think pro teams could be successful with their owned communities. Part of me thinks that social media and the core concepts of listening to and engaging with fans are too important to be left to a third party website/social network, where you don't have full control over features, branding, data and ad/sponsorship opportunities. I see these communities as offering something different to fans than a team's Facebook page. Here are a few ideas.
Team communities could provide more of an outlet for hardcore fans and create opportunities for fans to truly get involved in the team's business/direction. The community would have to be integrated with the team's overall CRM system, so that if I have a problem/issue/question, I can get help--and teams could see how much money is saved by reducing the number of phone calls to customer service. Teams would also have to be able to tell how much more valuable a community member is (ticket sales, merchandise sales, etc) than a non-member, so they could justify the expense of all this. This community could also provide opportunities for fans to get involved in improving the overall experience (sort of like a Dell Ideastorm or My Starbucks Idea). The community should also tie into a team's loyalty program, so that I'm rewarded for my participation online and offline (checking into games, attending games, etc). There would also have to be a real effort made at community management--getting to know members, and helping them get to know each other, and initiating conversation--instead of the build-it-and-they-will-come approach taken by many in the past.
Then again, I'm still not convinced this would work every time. People are used to going to Twitter and Facebook for team/athlete related content, and things are becoming more and more decentralized. Also from a resources perspective, it's a lot less intimidating for a team or sports brand to start slowly on Twitter or Facebook, test some promotions/programs and add resources as needed, rather than put in the money upfront on a owned sports community.
It's definitely not enough to bring people together to a sports social network or community to "connect" anymore or just to provide sports-specific content. Fans can get good content hundreds of ways. If sports social networks have any chance of being successful. they have to offer something that a fan can't get anywhere else: ideally a combination of virtual and real-world benefits and experiences.

The Suns have Planet Orange and the Portland Trail Blazers have Iamatrailblazersfan.com, both social networks developed specifically for their fanbase that have ben largely successful in developing their online community and selling tix.
I don't think there is a need for a general sports social network because everyone already has facebook and twitter. Sports are social by nature and friends already talk trash on facebook with their friends when their favorite teams are playing and people can hear national opinions on Twitter as sports writers and pundits share their thoughts on a play by play basis.

here is the correct link

http://www.tribesports.com

sorry about that :o)

Interesting topic. I have just started using http:// www.tribesports.com. I think it is still in a beta version but already has some good features. The social network caters for all sports and is set up around the concept of 'tribes' and 'challenges'. The tribes collections of like minded people, either based round sports, events, disciplines, etc and provide an area for discussing, training tips, equipment reviews, etc. There are already lots of tribes from 'Ironman' to 'sporting trivia' and if there isn't one to suit you can set up your own 'tribe'.

The fun part and thing which got me hooked was the challenges. There are lots of challenges on the website which you take or set for your friends, anything from 'complete 100 push-up', 'run 5km under 23mins' to 'reduce your golf handicap by 5 shots in a year'. There are lots of challenges for all sorts of sports already created and you can create your own challenges and tribes.

Hope some of you find it as interesting, fun and informative as me.

LockerRoom http://www.thelockeroom.com

LockerRoom at http://www.thelockeroom.com

I found a great sports social network that connects sports fans and athletes where you're able to share your experiences, join/make your fav teams' group to talk trash and share news, and network to take your sports goals to the next level. It is the facebook of sports! Come check it out.! www.sportsfavesocial.com

There is a new one called myhofs.com. Pretty cool.

I created http://sports-glory.com a growing community of sports fans.

I created http://sports-glory.com a growing community of sports fans.

Guys & gals, sorry to be a bit "late to the game" - am catching up with some older posts...

Great thought-provoking topic (as usual on the Sports Networker), and great responses from some of the best minds out there in the sports & social media sphere!

I have also been thinking about this, maybe more from a European standpoint, and have also found myself, like Sam, regretting the lack of a dedicated, sports-specific "social network".
For me, the "need" for such a network (I totally agree it has to be defined) would arise not from the online interactions between members, nor even just from the real-life, "fan-specific" interactions between those members.
In my view, to justify its existence, the network would have to cater for my needs as a sportsperson, not just a sports fan. I need to be able to enthuse about my favourite sport, team or athlete (and current social-media channels allow me to do this already in a pretty targeted manner), but I also need to share my own sports-related experiences with like-minded sportspeople. I need to share my victories, my frustrations, my training or competition tips; I need to be able to ask for advice from fellow sportspeople whom I have come to appreciate & trust, because they are active fans themselves, some of them with exactly the same sports interests as myself, some of them geographically close to me, others not.
The community I need to create is not just around the sport, team or athlete I admire - it needs to be created around me as an active sportsperson. Then, I think, would it make sense for such a community to exist on a separate platform than, as a separate entity from, those which are already available.

Looking forward to reading your further thoughts about this!
Cheers,
Gabriel ( gabman + mangano management )

(PLUG ALERT: I also write -way too sporadically...- about this & other sports management topics, with more of a European focus, on the Sports Management Blog, at www.sportsmanagementblog.com . If you haven't subscribed yet to the blog's feed, I'd be thrilled if you did.)

here is one, eFans.com, the revolutionary social network for sports fans.

Great topic and great responses.

Jason raised the point that if sports social networks have any chance of being successful, they have to offer something that a fan can't get anywhere else. I think this is the crux of the matter. Many sports have built vibrant communities on facebook and twitter through great interactions and fantastic content.

Do teams/sports have the resources to great even more compelling content to entice fans away/"upgrade" from the facebooks and twitters of this world to customised social media platforms? I'm not sure they do.

At a conference in Sydney in July, Pedro Duarte of Real Madrid outlined their philosophy in the social media and mobile space as "To be where the user is, using the channels that the users uses". Real Madrid has te 3rd largets facebook presence globally.

On the other hand Dan Harbison of the Portland Trailblazers gave a very compelling case for the customised approach. One of the advantages that NBA and MLB (and possibly European football) is the length of season and sheer volume of games related content opportunities. But do you squirrel that content away from where the masses are?

Where a real opportunity lies is in how you manage members/season pass holders, those customers who attend week in week out, and are the lifeblood of most sports. As Jason points out the data exists on the in house CRM system. You most likely have their email address. Enticing these customers to share their match day experience in an environment that is integrated with the CRM system is certainly worth exploring. After all, these most valuable of customers can be lost in the great ocean of facebook. How many of Real Madrids 4.7m facebook fans are season pass holders. I'd say less than 0.1%. What % of fan-derived revenue comes from this small group of fans. I'd say a lot.

I think because there isn't a clear cut sports social network that the opportunity is still there. Jason makes a ton of great points why no one else has been able to pull it off. People definitely use facebook and twitter to sound off and if someone successfully pulls it off, facebook and twitter will definitely have to be integrated and integrated extremely well. I do think people like to identify with a sports community whether it be a forum or network they currently use. They want to be where people like them are.

Like Jason says the teams obviously have a huge advantage and aren't really taking advantage of it. Someone will figure out the right game mechanics, give enough incentives, and build the best mobile technology to pull it off. It may also be something like a foursquare for sports.

I'm glad you brought this topic up. I have a ton of thoughts about this topic and am constantly asking the same question. Also, looking forward to hearing what others think.

As Alan pointed out, there are a few (I'd also add mycolts.net) to the list that have been relatively successful. The problem with most of the sports social networks that have launched/failed is that they didn't offer enough unique benefits, had poor community management practices and poor use of game mechanics to motivate people to participate. And they had ad-supported business models that usually didn't work because they could never get enough traffic. Lastly, they had no connection to offline fan gatherings and meetups.

I still think pro teams could be successful with their owned communities. Part of me thinks that social media and the core concepts of listening to and engaging with fans are too important to be left to a third party website/social network, where you don't have full control over features, branding, data and ad/sponsorship opportunities. I see these communities as offering something different to fans than a team's Facebook page. Here are a few ideas.

Team communities could provide more of an outlet for hardcore fans and create opportunities for fans to truly get involved in the team's business/direction. The community would have to be integrated with the team's overall CRM system, so that if I have a problem/issue/question, I can get help--and teams could see how much money is saved by reducing the number of phone calls to customer service. Teams would also have to be able to tell how much more valuable a community member is (ticket sales, merchandise sales, etc) than a non-member, so they could justify the expense of all this. This community could also provide opportunities for fans to get involved in improving the overall experience (sort of like a Dell Ideastorm or My Starbucks Idea). The community should also tie into a team's loyalty program, so that I'm rewarded for my participation online and offline (checking into games, attending games, etc). There would also have to be a real effort made at community management--getting to know members, and helping them get to know each other, and initiating conversation--instead of the build-it-and-they-will-come approach taken by many in the past.

Then again, I'm still not convinced this would work every time. People are used to going to Twitter and Facebook for team/athlete related content, and things are becoming more and more decentralized. Also from a resources perspective, it's a lot less intimidating for a team or sports brand to start slowly on Twitter or Facebook, test some promotions/programs and add resources as needed, rather than put in the money upfront on a owned sports community.

It's definitely not enough to bring people together to a sports social network or community to "connect" anymore or just to provide sports-specific content. Fans can get good content hundreds of ways. If sports social networks have any chance of being successful. they have to offer something that a fan can't get anywhere else: ideally a combination of virtual and real-world benefits and experiences.

The Suns have Planet Orange and the Portland Trail Blazers have Iamatrailblazersfan.com, both social networks developed specifically for their fanbase that have ben largely successful in developing their online community and selling tix.

I don't think there is a need for a general sports social network because everyone already has facebook and twitter. Sports are social by nature and friends already talk trash on facebook with their friends when their favorite teams are playing and people can hear national opinions on Twitter as sports writers and pundits share their thoughts on a play by play basis.