A strange pair in Nike and Google have teamed up to launch a soccer social network called Joga.com. As I’ve talked about in previous posts, I think people will get tired of the vastness and general theme of Myspace and move more towards vertical or niche social networks that will be built to serve their passions and interests.
Even if they don’t tire of Myspace, I see an opportunity for entrepreneurs who create social networking sites or platforms for topics that they know and love. Myspace allows you to do some things, but obviously a social networking site built on soccer will be more attractive to soccer lovers, as there will be built in features that fit soccer along with knowing that everyone involved is interested in the same core subject.
What remains to be seen is that if this particular case will work. There are large corporate interests behind Joga.com in Nike and Google, so will users feel like it’s authentic and real? If it succeeds, won’t we see Nike/Google social networks in other areas? Soccer was a naturally first choice for it’s world interest, but it seems like the same formula could work for basketball, football, and whatever other sport Nike feels like starting a site in.
It’s still an open question in my mind if this particular site will succeed, but I’m pretty sure a well-done soccer site started that was very authetic and real would work. It’s possible that some will be turned off by Nike’s involvement. For example, if Myspace was started by a large music label would it have worked to this extent?
Either way, expect a lot more niche social networks.
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I agree with you that we are going to be seeing more niche social networks (I’m working on one myself.) However, I do wonder where they will take us. One of the greatest appeals to MySpace was the millions of people that used it. Users can find out their old girlfiriend has 3 kids and talk to their buddies all within 10 minutes of each other.
Niche networks put up walls which originally made social networks so appealing. On the other hand, the sheer volume of users on Myspace acted as another wall, in a sense.
It seems most people prefer to meet new friends and share ideas in venues of common interest,. Myspace works great for certain niches, but for the most part it feels like a gigantic ocean of faces. There are millions of users, yet the most popular groups only have tens of thousands of users.
I think that these niche networks will have to do more than just be Myspace with a name like soccer to succeed… but even the worst will do better than these generic sites that just want to be another Myspace.
Exactly Andrew, and I’m not really suggesting that people copy Myspace and focus it on a subject. I’m thinking more along the lines of building features and tools into the application that fits the topic it’s based upon. It’s basically like building a whole new generation of the community and content sites out there that don’t have social networking features or focus on user-generated content. It’ll be interesting to see what develops.
I have been developing FriendsOver50.com since August of last year and am about to take it from alpha to beta.
It is about so much more than dating………
FriendsOver50.com is a Free interactive online community for mature adults that want a new way to connect, communicate and share information with people with similar interests,issues and challenges.
FriendsOver50.com is a place where we can make new friends, reconnect with friends of old and share meaningful information about improving our quality of life as we get older.
Tell your Mum!
Great to hear Alexander, good luck with it!
The future of Social Networking in web applications and software is very bright. Google/Nike have the right idea too, It’s entirely about the relevance.
We launched a small business community for artists, designers, and services just a few months ago (ekaweeka.com). We’ve hand picked our first circle of users and stayed true to their needs. We’ve found that our job is maintaining that culture and providing resources for those people trying to get their own business going. By doing so Ekaweeka has become a place to meet and learn about others turning their hobbies to business, and it provides visibility for them as well.
Business are using Myspace for marketing as the sheer number of users on there promise some ROI, but we have found Myspace doesn’t provide an exclusive tool set for independent/ creative businesses. It’s the perfect niche and we’re blessed to be the host of the party!
Has anyone come across any solid software platforms for developing unique niche social networks on top?
Hi Matt,
I haven’t used it, but I know PHPFox is an application that allows you to create a niche social network.
Ning = ning.com offers a free platform for social networking
We’ve recently launched a search engine that helps users find niche interest social networks and helps social network owners promote them.
Users search for sites related to whatever their interest is and webmasters submit their sites tagged with relted keywords.
The idea is that due to the increasing popularity and proliferation of niche subject social networking sites, users have a way of finding like-minded communities and these social networks receive targeted traffic that helps build user base and monetize.
Please take a look! We’re still building the database. Feel free to register and submit your niche social network or social media site for free.
http://findasocialnetwork.com
This was a great article. Check out this site for more information on Micro Niche Social Networks.
How they make money and are gonna change the world
http://www.micronichesocialnetworks.com
Speaking of football/soccer, I came across footbo.com which is exactly the niche network that will appeal to fans around the world. I think it has one other thing going for it, in that it is grass-roots, and really provides the features that those interested in the sport would like – and not some team-up of big names (Nike and Google) who launched a lame site and tried to ride the wave.
just in case:
http://footbo.com/home
There is hobby social network http://www.hobbything.com. I think the niche social networks are the way to go for sure.
Niche social networks are a welcome addition to the web. Because they are more narrowly focused, they are better able to serve the needs of their community.
Qnahealth is a new social network for health related information and support. It’s designed to be friendly and easy to use and is focused around users asking and answering questions and sharing their experiences and knowledge.
We invite everyone to take a look as they explore their online health information options.