is anyone here join the joga bonito community?

[东条英机]

is it interesting?

[lost]

Its so good, its almost like nirvana, i cant really describe to you the ecstasy i feel at beign part of such a community, i love the leader!!!

[Yañez]

hes being sarcastic? whats joga bonito community?

[jerrito]

hes being sarcastic? whats joga bonito community?

Is that in Rio?


:rolleyes:

[Caesar]

I joined when I downloaded the Joga.com/Google extension for Firefox during the World Cup.

I don't actually use it for anything else, but the extension is awesome - customised browser skins for all the World Cup countries, and an easy-access panel that gives you access to news, results and video clips. During the WC, if you were online during matches it'd have a play-by-play, and pop-up alerts every time a goal was scored, someone was substituted or a card was issued.

[Fat Eric Cantona]

]UNE 19, 2006
Technology
By Ian Sager

Beautiful Game, Blemished Site
As an online community for soccer fans, the Nike and Google co-creation, Joga.com, mostly attracts kids, potentially getting dyed-in-the-wool fans offside

The Good Comprehensive search function makes it easy to find people with similar interests

The Bad Overrun by American teens

The Bottom Line For those new to the game, Joga.com is a must-search site. But if are looking to meet the world's truly soccer-mad fans, this one is not for you

With the World Cup in full swing, the Internet is awash in soccer. But what if you're looking for more than just interviews and live match commentary? For a place to meet others who share your passion for the world's game, Nike (NKE) and Google (GOOG) have cooked up just the site—Joga.com.



Think of Joga.com, from the Portuguese for "play," as MySpace for soccer fans. Developed as the cornerstone to Nike's World Cup media blitz, Joga.com's success has hinged on the unlikely partnership of Nike and Google. To their credit, they've gotten a lot right. The login page is simple and visually pleasing. Create a free Google account, using a link, log in, and you'll score nicely. Like other networking sites, Joga encourages members to fill in their basic personal information. But this is where the similarities end.

With customizable graphics and a tool that lets you choose the team of your dreams, Joga gives users great control. Included in the profile are a standard blog, video- and photo-hosting space, and a comprehensive search engine. Just as with MySpace, you can search Joga for people who might share your interests. But what makes this function so neat is that you can customize it. Want to view the most recent photos of Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar? Simply click on photos and search. The same process can be used if you're looking to find a fellow Ajax supporter in your location.

GREMLINS? NO, HOOLIGANS. Joga allows you to search for and join fan groups, or communities. The communities are broken down into two subsections: official and unofficial. If you search both communities sections for "Manchester United," you'll come up with 79 groups. Yet if you search for "Manchester United" under official communities, you'll be sent to the one and only official ManU community group.

Despite its virtues, the site does whiff on a few kicks. As a beta site, it breaks down from time to time, for instance. Fortunately, the site managers have a sense of humor: When a service isn't available, a message appears, letting you know that "the hooligans appear to be running wild on Joga.com. Please visit again soon; we'll have order restored as soon as possible."

Also, while full of soccer fanatics both young and old, it tends to attract many younger fans. So it's a great resource for the casual fan, but may appeal less to the diehard supporter. This is the product of the tone of Nike's most recent soccer ad campaign, titled "Joga Bonito." Joga Bonito is Portuguese for "play beautiful," and the campaign features, among others, the Brazilian national team in its ads. The campaign is aimed at bringing skill and passion back into soccer rather than diving, fighting, spitting, and arguing. Eric Cantona, a former Manchester United star, narrates the ads.

SPAWN OF SOCCER MOMS. To the most serious supporter, the Joga Bonito campaign seems to put style above substance. Critics say it has created a community of soccer players who can perform mind-boggling tricks but muff the less glamorous tasks so often needed in the game. It gives no credit, for instance, to defenders who track back and make hard tackles.

Joga.com reflects the campaign's kinder, gentler tack. Its younger members post videos and photos of tricks they've completed, for instance. They write full blog entries about their days of glory on the youth fields of America, reinforcing the "soccer mom" image that plagues American soccer in the eyes of the international community. So diehard fans abroad may not find this site to their taste. But to fans new to the game, Joga.com can open windows on this turbocharged sport.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060619_566669.htm




http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=16295&hed=Google+Launches+Joga.com

Google Launches Joga.com
Search icon partners with Nike to create a soccer-themed social networking site.
April 3, 2006 Print Issue


Since debuting Orkut in 2004, Google has learned a few lessons about social networking. And no, attracting Brazilian drug lords and al Qaeda operatives was never part of the business plan.

Those missteps aside, Google has learned how to direct a community to create content, says David Jeske, an engineering director at Google. The key is to give people something compelling to do, he says.

And with World Cup mania about to engulf the planet, what could be more compelling than soccer? Google partnered in March with Nike to launch joga.com, a networking site targeted at the globe’s soccer fans.

Joga (which means play in Portuguese) is built on an Orkut infrastructure. In fact, at first glance, it appears as if Google and Nike gave Orkut an extreme makeover. But that’s not completely true, even if Mr. Jeske does rather coyly describe Joga as an experimental vehicle that could “influence other products.” While Joga will never branch out beyond soccer, successful features could be applied to Orkut.




And Google needs a makeover in the social networking world. Orkut, despite the Google brand, hasn’t exactly set the world ablaze. Compared with the success of sites like MySpace.com, it’s a flop. MySpace drew 48.9 million unique users worldwide in February, while Orkut drew 24.4 million, according to comScore Media Metrix. But while almost three-quarters of MySpace’s traffic came from the United States, Orkut had less than 150,000 unique visitors in the U.S. It is hugely popular in Brazil—as is soccer—and in parts of the Middle East.

By building a site around a sport that’s perhaps most beloved in the country that’s responsible for three-quarters of Orkut’s traffic, the Mountain View, California-based company will be able to tap into branded dollars, points out David Card, an analyst with JupiterResearch.

[Totallyemo]

This is NOT joga bonito.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAvptW-7AVE