Up until now, Google’s one obvious weakness was the absence of a strong social network in their arsenal. Though they do have Orkut, a community site that is invite-only, it has done poorly in any country not named Brazil. However, recent news that indicates a teaming of Google and Nike seems to signal Google’s determination to fill this void.
The cooperative endeavor between the two companies is a soccer-based social network named Joga, which both companies have worked on for the past eight months. Joga.com will be officially unveiled sometime this week. This site is aimed specifically at the world’s soccer fans, and will be invite-only, just like Orkut. Joga.com went live last week and is soon expected to run in 140 countries in 14 languages.
“As we saw the social networks grow in the U.S. and elsewhere, we asked, ‘What if this was around sports, a specific sport?” said Nike’s vice president for global brand management, Trevor Edwards, in regards to why they opted to launch a topic-specific community rather than a general one. Soccer was a clear choice given the fact that it is the most popular sport outside of the U.S., and that the World Cup will commence in Munich on June 9th.
Joga.com will be a free social networking site that will allow its members to make their own blogs and send each other photos, e-mails, and video clips, which will be found on Google Video. Users will also be able to access content provided by Nike related to soccer superstars from around the globe. For now there is little content on the site, though soccer players sponsored by Nike and Nike employees have made their own pages and profiles to lure other users to start their own pages. Another feature on the site allows members to create their own 11-man teams that can include professional players, friends, or a combination of both.
This move is a way for Nike to target its coveted male demographic, which is increasingly using the Internet to get their information. It is also a way for Google to expand its current social networking user base without completely leaving behind its current Brazilian base. “Joga” is Portuguese for “to play,” which will fare well with the 74% of Orkut’s users, who are Brazilian. Two Brazilian players are also featured on Joga’s homepage.
If Joga is received well, Google and Nike will consider launching other sports-based social networking sites for basketball, baseball, and skateboarding, among others, according to Nike officials.
Interestingly enough, Google and Nike’s collaboration is in direct contention with the partnership between Yahoo and Adidas, who are official sponsors for the World Cup. Will Google and Nike garner a better response using buzz and untraditional means, or will the conventional sponsorship route get better results for Yahoo or Adidas? Whatever the outcome, it will be exciting to see if topic-specific community sites grow in prominence in the future, and how new tactics will be used in the ever-growing competitions in the sports and Web realms.
Sources:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/
content/mar2006/tc20060320_591107.htm
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/
wpn-60-20060320NikeAndGoogleKickoffJoga.html
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/?p=3142
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