The Social Life of Sports Online
For sports fans and professional players alike, the online life of sports has taken off. The recent U.S. Open is a prime example. The website usopen.org gave tennis enthusiasts abundant opportunities to stay connected to the latest coverage. Through the site, fans could watch matches live, see a Williams’ sister interview, and download the iPhone app to receive official U.S. Open Twitter updates, live scores, streaming radio coverage, or on-demand video clips. A widget designed for U.S. Open coverage was also available for fans’ social media or home pages
Need even more of a social community to interact around sports games? The new website, Fanbase.com, was created expressly for this purpose. With the goal of serving as the web’s largest online almanac of pro and college athletes built by fans, Fanbase invites members to share news and reactions to the latest games. You can even sign in with Facebook to connect with friends who are fellow fans. From SportsMates.com to GolfLink.com to BikeSpace.net, sports-driven social networking websites are springing up across the Internet and attracting followers.
Players, too, have become social media centric. The U.S. Open’s tennis authorities sent out a “Twitter warning,” forbidding on-court tweeting and asking players to keep their off-court tweets to a minimum. The NFL also recently adopted a no fun social media policy prohibiting tweeting by players before, during, and after games after a Cincinnati Bengal’s wide receiver was caught in-game tweeting. But, for some players, Twitter is a powerful way to beat the press to the punch. For example, Allen Iverson recently broke the news via Twitter that he signed with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
Whether you’re an athlete or a spectator, the modern life of sports online is rich in broadband applications and information – uniting these communities in new and innovative ways.
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