Hockeybuzz is a great way for fans of the sport to get together and argue over who supports the better team. With over 50 bloggers, it is one of the fastest ways to find out rumours around the league and discuss them with others. While there are many different sites that allow for fans to discuss current events in hockey, this site has a few extra features that make it so unique. One only needs to register to a free online account to have full access the site.One of the perks of joining this site is that you gains access to the chat rooms. This allows hockey fans from all over the world to discuss issues with each other and the site's bloggers. There are also Hockeybuzz forums where fans are able to talk about more specific events around the league.
As mentioned before, there are well over 50 bloggers on the site. Some of these bloggers post live podcasts while others are linked through other applications such as Twitter. This makes it much easier to follow what they are doing and what is going on in the league.
One of the best aspects of this site is the fantasy hockey leagues. This is when you form into groups with other users and simulate creating competitive hockey teams. Over the course of the season you manage your team by picking up free agent players, or trading players with others in the league. The statistics are kept throughout the season and at the end the winners are given prizes.
The reason Hockeybuzz is such a great media application is because it is user friendly. For example, the toolbar on the homepage allows users to navigate through all the different applications with ease. When you first open the site, there are a number of boxes with the most recent league transactions and rumours, as well as a little video welcoming users to the page.
While it was difficult for me to find out exactly who started the site, it appears that it was founded by several bloggers. One of these bloggers goes by the name of Eklund. He is very involved in the site through various blogs, depth/rumour charts, podcasts and chat forums. While I have only been following the website for the past year, it seems to have been around since 2005.
As far as longevity goes, there isn't any reason why this site should falter. In all actuality, Hockeybuzz has the potential expand. With revenue coming in through ad space and the store, the site is likely to grow. One of its main advantages is that it relies heavily on its users. As long as there are hockey fans with something to say, this site will exist. This sense of community amongst the users of the site makes the site stronger, creating a loyalty that is hard to beat.
While this social application does not directly tie into PR, it can be useful for those in the sports industry. This site is an example of how one can set up a user friendly application so that everyone can join in on social networking.
