Props to Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily for launching a stand-alone website about the Olympics in Beijing. Tripp Mickle and Jay Weiner are writing from Beijing and offering news, opinions and perspectives on the business of the Olympics and sponsorship.
Besides the fact that the site is free, the best part about it is that it allows for a dialogue. People can discuss stories by leaving comments so the site isn't just a one-sided conversation. While this new site basically is a blog (includes categories, comments, newest posts at the top, etc) it's interesting that they don't call it this (though they do have a sections for the writers to have their own blogs). Maybe "blogs" are still seen as untrustworthy? There still aren't many agencies or industry professionals blogging in the sports business/sports marketing world compared to advertising and marketing in general.
I really like this effort by SBJ/SBD. It's a great way to build on the interest surrounding the Olympics and give away some of their content for free, exposing potential new readers to their brand and writing. Hopefully it will also show people that blogs can be trustworthy and informative.
What do you think about this new site?