Bengals go wild with fan video site

By Andrew
Lippe

The Cincinnati Bengals have established the NFL s first
website strictly devoted to fan created videos.
The website (bengals.sharkle.com) was launched with ViTrue technology
this past Sunday at the Bengals-Patriots game when fans were invited during a
time-out to submit videos to the site supporting their beloved team. Following
the game, the Bengals sent out of 40,000 email blasts asking fans for videos.
The site is up and running and has already added hundreds of videos.

We are a mini version of YouTube, said Andy Ware manager
of website and new media for the Cincinnati Bengals. They implemented the site to increase social networking
and to have a place where fans can share their Bengals passion.

There is a lot of interest in online video sharing, said
Ware.

The uploading process is very simple and fans registration
is free. Fans have many options on the site including voting on their favorite
videos. The best rated videos will be
displayed on the scoreboard during home games at Paul Brown Stadium. Fans are
also able to create friends lists and send messages to fellow members on the
website. Fan videos include family gatherings, to those
infamous tailgating parties before the game.
All videos are reviewed for content by website staff before being
posted.

We wanted a place where Bengals fans can interact with
other Bengals fans they normally wouldn t meet, said Ware.