James Stewart Enters the Social Web with JS7.com and @JS7 Twitter Account
April 1st, 2009 • Motocross News
Photo by GuyB.
James Stewart is destined to bring our sport to new levels. Just as Jeremy McGrath introduced millions of new fans to the sport, Stewart will continue to help motocross grow. His young edginess combined with his flashy personality and strong fan base will take him far in life, both on and off the bike.
Stewart’s latest step to grow his prescence and popularity both inside and outside of the motocross industry include two different web projects.
JS7.com
James Stewart’s new website, JS7.com.
JS7.com is James Stewart’s new website, funded by Red Bull, is James’ home on the web. However, JS7.com is not another standard motocross website with photos, bio and news thrown together on a crappy template.
JS7.com is a website for Stewart’s life both on and off the bike. In fact, the homepage highlights the two personalities of James Stewart. It designates “Stewart” as his personality on the motocross bike and “James” as his mainstream personality.
The site includes both real photos and some great (and very original) viral videos made by James himself, just being James. It is awesome to get a peek into what professional motocross racers due off the bike. Everyone knows they ride and train harder than local riders, but at the end of the day, they are just like us and love to have a good time.
JS7.com also features a blog (unfortunately not written by James), a list of results and upcoming events and a shout out for his sponsors and partners. The site features a lot of information which is both helpful and entertaining for the motocross veteran and newbie alike.
While the content on the site is clearly geared towards James’ motocross ambitions, it also features a look into his plans past motocross. It offers a view into his ambitions and desires for his life after racing and shows that Stewart will help bring attention to our sport long past his retirement.
@JS7 on Twitter
@JS7, James Stewart’s new twitter account.
Twitter is a relatively new social website which is growing in popularity. It is a relatively simple service where you can post 140 character updates on what your up to. While it seems almost like a pointless service, there is something very addicting about how communities grow and prosper through the use of Retweeting, @Replies and Direct Messages.
As a whole, the motocross community has been relatively slow to adopt the new technology, but recently the motocross community on Twitter has gained some steam. The latest addition to this community is James Stewart.
James Stewart’s new Twitter account, @JS7 is a great peek into his life. Granted, he is not nearly as active on Twitter as the major Twitter users, but it is a start. Twitter will allow James to further connect with his fans in a number of ways. James’ profile on Twitter is a place where he can post updates, both about his racing and his life. He can also ask questions of his fans and as a whole, it allows you to connect with him on a level not before possible.
However, I would like to see James get more involved in the Twitter community. He posts a good number of interesting tweets ranging from updates and news to questions. However, he fails to truly emberse himself in the community by following and @replying to other users. It took @LanceArmstrong a few months to realize the value of actually following people, and hopefully James will as well.
One thing to be thankful of is the fact that James himself seems to be the ones writing the “Tweets.” In a world where automated bots make up more than half of the Twitterverse, it is awesome to see James really putting time and effort into connecting and communicating with his fans.
Globally Consistent Branding
James Stewart’s new JS7 logo.
Something which I believe many motocross riders fail to realize is that in addition to their name and their motocross racing, they are building a brand throughout their career. Everything they do, on and off the track, contributes to the reputation and validity of their brand.
With JS7.com and @JS7, James has begun his journey to a global branding scheme which will help take his name far beyond the motocross world. For example, he uses a consistent “name” (JS7) and a consistent logo on both sites. These aspects of his brand both reflect his motocross racing, yet also stand alone sufficiently in order to bring James’ brand far beyond the motocross community.
Headed in the Right Direction
In order for Motocross to make it to the level of other mainstream sports, motocross athletes need to make a name for themselves outside of our industry. Jeremy McGrath was the first to do this, and James Stewart is picking up where he left off.
James Stewart’s new website and Twitter feed are a way for him to both connect with fans on a new, more personal level, and grow his personal brand in a manner which will help carry his global recognition far beyond the motocross community.
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