Football Fans Unite

No matter what your hobby, passion or obscure obsession is, there's definitely a social network centered around it. Today I stumbled upon a social networking site that is perfect for me. I'm a huge football (soccer) fan and spend a good portion of my day obsessing about it. As a matter of fact, I was doing just that when I ran into Footbo, a new social networking site that is 100% dedicated to the WORLD of football.

I knew I loved this site when I read their description: "Whether you're an armchair fan, someone who sleeps, eats, drinks, breathes and dreams football or an amateur player - Footbo is here to provide a place where fans can meet and interact with peers and rivals; receive personalized updates and match information; share knowledge, media and content; and express opinions and emotions. After all, it’s football that makes the world go round!"

Whether or not football makes the world go round, I couldn't ask for anything more out of this site. Instead of getting the latest football news from the inept commentating of Eric Wynalda and John Harkes, I read the daily news from leagues and tournament around the world. I can also read the opinions of various league specialists; for once, the range of opinions actually hold some merit. Footbo allows me to engage in social experience with the people who love football as much as I do.

I was extremely happy to have stumbled upon Footbo, but I kept asking myself why I hadn't found it sooner. Afterall, football is the #1 sport in the world with more people tuning in for the World Cup than the Olympics. Footbo could possibly be the only place in the world where people in the U.S. can get along with a football fan from Iraq. With that being said, I think Footbo really encompasses what a social networking site is supposed to be all about: Bringing people from different parts of the world together to share an environment of similar interest.

Luckily for football fans, the game never stops. Right now we get to chat about the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland. In a couple months we get to talk about the Olympics in China. Shortly after that, we get to debate about Chelseas's new coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and the beginning of the new English Premier League season. For those of us who live in the U.S., we can continue to debate over the quality of the MLS and argue whether or not David Beckham is going to make an impact in America.

All in all, there's something special about sharing a passion with people who live in all different parts of the world irregardless of the politics that keep us publically separated. Social networking sites don't always have to apeal to an international audience, but footbo has done an amazing job of making that happen. Good bye football fan Facebook app. Hello Footbo!

Battle at Kruger: Ad Networks vs The Powerhouses

Some of you may have seen YouTube's "Best Eye Witness" Award Winning Video, "Battle At Kruger." This heroic video shows a poor baby Buffalo's struggle to survive an attach from two of Africa's most powerful predators; the Lion and Crocodile. Oddly enough, this battle ends with a convincing victory for the Buffalo because of the power of strenght in numbers.

At the completion of this incredible video, I sat there applauding the audacity that this herd of Buffalo had to challenge two of the most lethal animals in Africa. Then all of a sudden, it dawned on me that this concept of strength in numbers is the same strategy that Ad Networks use to combat the powerhouses of the Ad World.

Let's use the obvisous example of Kid's Marketing. As an Advertiser, I know that if I was doing the buy for a brand like Matel, I'd immediately reach out to the people at Disney and Nickelodeon. This is the obvious route knowing that they have an established and credible network of properties that reach children of all ages. However, that's precisely where every other Marketer is trying to reach this audience. Is there another source that has just as much power?

Let's take a look at GoFish, a very intriguing Kid's Ad Network that I've been lucky enough to learn about just recently, and that has some of the most popular kid's websites in their repertoire. Some of these sites include Miniclip, Piczo, WeeWorld and Whyville. Like the Buffalo, GoFish cannot compete with just one of their sites against Disney and Nick. However, when you combine all of the sites in the network, GoFish accounts for a monthly reach of 18.2 Million uniques, which is just behind Nick's 25.4 Million and Disney's 27.5 Million. Suddenly, we find that the Buffalo, although modest and sometimes unnoticed, can also fight with the most powerful of all.

I don't know about you, but when I watched this video I found myself routing for the Buffalo. This is what I like to call the case of the underdog. Although it may be odd to relate a Kid's Ad Network to an battle of animals at a watering hole in Africa, I think the same underdog priciples apply with GoFish. They're a true underdog in the sense that they work that much harder to compete with the powerhouses of Nick and Disney. Their impressive reach and customized solutions for advertisers are truly worthy of admiration and placement alongside the likes of Nick and Disney. At the very least, they're worth of a mention in The Digital Dojo as a company that embodies the characteristics of an innovative and well managed Digital Corporation. If you'd like to check them out you can click here.