Lance Armstrong is among the most relevant retired athletes, having raised tens of millions of dollars for cancer research through his foundation. His slogan "Livestrong" has been featured on everything from those familiar yellow bracelets to a whole line of Nike product, in which 100 percent of the profits go to charity.
But what's the "Livestrong" name worth on the Web?
Demand Media, the social media company founded by former MySpace chairman Richard Rosenblatt, announced today a partnership with the Lance Armstrong Foundation that will enable Demand to control a new site called Livestrong.com.The site is designed to inspire life change and to motivate people to talk about health, fitness and lifestyle.
I checked out the site this morning.
I like the tools. The custom food journal, calorie calculator, body fat, symptom checker and the fitness log. Though I'm obviously not going to try it, I think the ovulation calendar-- advertised as charting your way to conception--is different. There's also an application called Dares that enables people to challenge others to do something and to track that challenge.
The medical part of the site is also encouraging because it's less intimidating than some other sites, like WebMD, that are strictly medical.
I've been pitched on sports social networks for the past year and a half and almost none of them have impressed me. The bottom line is that, on most of these sites, there's nothing to compel people to come back every day. At least, at Livestrong.com, there are tools that, if people choose to start some sort of program, compel people to come back. That's a start.
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