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India’s First Social Network for 2008: It’s confirmed Mallya is onto the Social Networking Bandwagon!
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Recently we wrote about the buzz surrounding Vijay Mallya and his desire to jump onto the Social Networking Bandwagon – well the news is officially out, Mallya’s Force India F1 has launched India’s first sports related social network. The social network hopes to position itself as an engagement tool for all F1 fans in India irrespective of the team they support.
There are extensive community building features on Club Force for ForceIndia and F1 supporters where supporters can create personalized blogs, upload videos, photos and connect with each other through forums and groups. The site uses social networking technologies for community creation.
So essentially users can blog, comment, create communities, post photos, videos, and meet other F1 Enthusiasts. Essentially there is not too much innovation in terms of what the network can offer to the user. As more brand related social networks crop up, they will need to integrate brand and category related applications – we have written more about that here.
I think Club Force would benefit a lot if they allowed users to Network via F1 related tools – a virtual online championship maybe where users can connect. This could be coupled with On Ground Events. Sony and PS3 have done something similar. Have a look at it here.
The Network is an infant but in terms of creation of conversations and user engagement it has done recently well. Have a look at the Club Force Stats:
I think Club Force has an advantage in that it is India’s first network dedicated to solely F1. I think it seeks to position itself as a category as well as brand related social network so that should engage a variety of Indian F1 enthusiasts. This also shows that micro social networking is taking off.
Another insight – for category related social networks, it is best to position yourself early. WATConsult, a concern where we assure you the best would be happy to help.
Force India F1 has also been able to rope in Shah Rukh Khan to endorse the brand – apparently free of charge. I think it has a lot to do with Dr. Mallya’s goodwill. Expect the rest of the Bollywood bandwagon to jump on as well if asked.
There is an interesting feature on the New Force India F1 site (which btw has also been launched). The site uses mash ups of Google Maps for providing F1 lovers details about global circuits with up to date rankings and countdown to upcoming races. That essentially is personalizing the brand for consumers. One hopes to see more of that.
One can also create a feature where users can create their own circuits or test drive a car in real time on the Force India site.
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