A few weeks ago the folks at ZexSports asked me to review their website. Since I just received some stuff they sent me as a thank you (t-shirt, hat, bag) and the stuff is pretty cool as you can see by the pictures (fyi the guy in the picture isn’t me), I wanted to tell everyone a little more about ZexSports.

ZexSports is an online community for action sports athlete and fans. It includes sports such as surfing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, skateboarding and motocross. While the site is still pretty new and growing (they recently re-launched it) and there are a few things that could be improved, here are a few things I think they’ve done a good job with.

Incentive program - I think it’s a great idea that ZexSports has a points program in place to reward people for using the site. You can receive points just for using the site (referring friends, adding videos and pictures, leaving comments, etc) and you will eventually be able to redeem these points for free merchandise, discounts, and trips. I think this is great because:

• These days, people have thousands of social networks to choose from. People need a reason to join a new site. Simply providing a place for people to “connect” doesn’t cut it anymore.
• People love being rewarded and it makes them feel special
• People are competitive. They like to be the best/have the most points/be better than their friends and gain bragging rights. The points system at ZexSports could create competition, which is fun for users and good for the site, as people will be more engaged and spend more time on it.

There is definitely potential for this incentive program to reward users and help build the site. Another social network that has successfully implemented a rewards program is MyColts, which is the social network for Indianapolis Colts fans. Their “Colts Cred” points system will likely offer users the opportunities to win prizes, VIP access at Colts events and even special offers from Colts sponsors.

Keepin’ it real – The grassroots, authentic attitude/mindset of people in action sports really comes through with the site. ZexSports could easily have a lot more corporate involvement than it does but it has toned that down so users of the site don’t feel like they’re being bombarded by ads.

I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year’s Eve tomorrow night. As a reminder, the next edition of the Sports Business Carnival will be published here on January 7th. If you’d like to be included, be sure to submit your article here or to me directly at jolpid(at)gmail dot com.

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