Professional Athletes Use Private Social Network To Exchange Information and Opportunities While Protecting Their Online Brand
Boca Raton, Florida - OnlyPlayers®, the leading social and business network dedicated to professional athletes, today announced the launch of HomePlate®, the new member start page designed to bring members the best of the Internet, in one place. The new release also includes new features and enhancements to OnlyPlayers.com®. The site was founded in early 2009 by NFL great Antonio Freeman and entrepreneur Todd Hirshorn. The inspiration came as the two discussed the need for retired and active athletes to embrace and utilize Internet to communicate, collaborate and control the future of their personal brand.
HomePlate®, the OnlyPlayers portal and latest upgrade to the OnlyPlayers web application delivers useful features such as the ability to update a users Twitter message, a secure inbox, ability to promote an upcoming event and easily reach out to their circle of friends. HomePlate® combines all of the features of the public social networks with an intuitive collection of athlete centric tools, breaking news feeds, recent video and photo galleries, links to popular analysts and blogs, and a marketplace highlighting products and services along with discounted offers. "These days, a lot is happening online and both active and retired athletes need to stay on top of the Internet." says Antonio Freeman, OnlyPlayer's co-founder. He goes on to say, "Pro athletes want to use the Internet to keep in touch with other athletes so they can stay connected to the game. They also want to promote themselves during and after their playing days."
OnlyPlayers helps their members communicate with each other just like any other social network with one big difference... its a private network that is closed to the public. "Each member is reviewed and confirmed to be who they say they are. This gives the network the type of privacy and security of a locker-room", says Todd Hirshorn, Co-founder of OnlyPlayers. Hirshorn continues, 'There is no other Internet destination which provides the type of customized user experience the professional athlete will require in the future."
In addition to the social and business platform, OnlyPlayers will assist their members in identifying and controlling unauthorized use of their brand on web sites such as Twitter, Facebook and myspace. There are many recent examples of misuse on these type of sites causing potential damage to the brand and reputation of high profile users. Once a member is up and running on OnlyPlayers, they can work with the OnlyPlayers staff to review their presence on the web and stake claim to their name on all of the major sites. "We offer this service free of charge to our members. We want them to have the information and expertise they need to protect themselves from the potential dangers the public social sites allow", says Hirshorn.
The site is free of charge for athletes. OnlyPlayers membership base is blind sponsored through marketing and advertising agreements. OnlyPlayers does not share personal data with any third party. The members are protected from fan and media intrusion. "We didn't want to start a network that required a membership fee. But, we wanted to provide the types of tools that other sites charge for", says Freeman.
About OnlyPlayers
OnlyPlayers.com is a leading social and business network dedicated to professional athletes. Co-founded by NFL great Antonio Freeman, OnlyPlayers Serves a rapidly growing base of members from all major sports leagues. OnlyPlayers provides a secure, private environment where athletes can communicate and collaborate to exchange information, ideas and opportunities. Members use the OnlyPlayers.com HomePlate® as their "Internet Start page" and single destination to manage their online activity, including, Blogs, Twitter, event promotion, online reputation management and communication. For more information about OnlyPlayers visit www.onlyplayers.com