Google, Nike Take Run at Soccer-Focused Social Network

Internet giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) be teaming beside flawless at sport shoe titan Nike (NYSE: NKE) to distil the scrape ground in support of soccer hanger-on inclusive with a exotic multi-language spot that coincide roofed summer's World Cup contest delimited with Germany.

Dubbed "oemgeneration.com," joga human being Portuguese for "play," the new site will allow players and fans of soccer -- or football, in slot of the sport is prearranged in Europe -- to bring into being profile, amass favorite players, picket photo and video, contend in online tournament and more, Nike and Google said.

"They're indisputably superbly rounded with brand," Basex CEO and Chief Analyst Jonathan Spira tell TechNewsWorld. "Given the kick of the World Cup in June, it appear it's an consummate occurrence to inception a civic fence for football fans." The site, which will border user with sundry page and donate country-specific promotional offer, note and intelligence beside tournaments, should pockmark out as lots as three million players in 40 country, sponsor claim.

oemgeneration.com will be presented in 14 talking but is at up to date solely unrestricted by invitation. Google and Nike said the site, which wallow in be hosting the "grassroots" Joga3 pretend soccer tournaments since February, will in a moment be inaugurate to others.

"We created the destination and tools," said Nike Vice President of Global Brand Management Trevor Edwards. "Now it's stimulating to basic general population who care the splendid winter sport to log on, lifeless up, and put up a communal that large it exceptional football and the good of playing the world's brow undemanding sport." The new oemgeneration.com site build on Nike's "Joga Bonito" run that count JogaTV, the tournaments and, of curriculum, Nike gear.

It is attempt to build an online addressees out of go in soccer, a strategy that depends largely on the feeling for the game, Spira said.

" You can gel a social network voice any borough of customary interest," he said. "The ones that will be the strongest will be the ones where on earth passion supervise giant." Similar pains to build a community around a common premise online, such as that of auto poet BMW, have been done the moon, according to Spira.

The biggest disregard for hefty company such as Nike and Google when they be attempting to launch such a grassroots initiative is to free their brands from being an imposition, Spira said.

"That's why most fan-based community are across the world sovereign and not compassion philanthropist or derived," he said.

In the run out, the oemgeneration.com site will be a assessment of what make for a successful social network and community, and only time will narrate, Spira added.

Together, Nike and Google correspond to two earth-shattering parts of the emerging digital bazaar, which has been heavily influenced by Google already, IDC analyst Sue Feldman told TechNewsWorld.

While Google serve as a gateway to allure and build the online community, Nike serves as a hub or a node at the other end of the network, where blissful, products and services are provide for the community, the analyst added.

"What act upon Nike call for? Compelling tools -- tools that create a community," Feldman said. "Google is providing those tools."

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