Don`t touch my balls
Footbo Integrates Facebook Connect
Footbo – the Fastest-Growing Online Community for Worldwide Football (Soccer) Fans with 250,000 Members Since its June 2008 Launch – Announces Facebook Connect Functionality For their Users
Footbo.com, the fastest-growing online community for football (soccer) fans around the world, has now integrated Facebook Connect. This enables users to share information across the two platforms and log-in with their Facebook profile.
The access to Facebook’s activity stream enables Footbo users to connect their accounts to Facebook and share their football blog posts, discussion topics and comments with their friends on Facebook. New users coming to Footbo will be able to log-in with their Facebook account, without having to fully register on Footbo.
“Enabling our users to follow football conversations and activities on Facebook helps them stay updated with their greatest passion. The integration of Facebook Connect is the first step to becoming a more open platform,” said Mani Honigstein, co-founder and CEO of Footbo.
Footbo launched a Beta version in June 2008 and provides an elaborate set of football-specific features and applications, delivered in a social networking environment. Since its launch, more than 250,000 football fans have joined the community.
Footbo for Fans
Footbo is the ultimate destination for true football (or soccer) fans around the world.
Features include:
- Interaction with friends and more than 250,000 football fans from around the globe
- Live scores, fixtures and personalized news
- Blogs and forums
- Prediction Games
- Grading of players’ performances
- Photo and video sharing
- Team and player profiles – created by the Footbo community
- Fan groups of teams and players
First Ascent Team Summits Everest
Viesturs and Whittaker Return Eddie Bauer to the Top of the World
On the morning of May 19, two legendary mountaineers on the First Ascent “Return to Everest” expedition reached the highest point on Earth. Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker stood on the summit with members of their production crew before descending to High Camp at 26,000 feet. Forced to spend an extra 24 hours in the “death zone” while waiting for high winds and whiteout conditions to improve, the team began their final summit push around 11:00 p.m. on the evening of May 18. Their successful summit comes 46 years and 18 days after Whittaker’s uncle, Jim, became the first American to do so, on May 1, 1963.
The common thread between the two expeditions besides the Whittaker name: Eddie Bauer was the outfitter, then and now. First Ascent marks Eddie Bauer’s return to its heritage as America’s original expedition outfitter.
The Return to Everest expedition includes several of the world’s most celebrated mountain guides and has introduced breakthrough video and audio production techniques to make the extreme challenge of climbing Mt. Everest accessible in ways never before possible. The unprecedented, virtually live coverage of the dramatic climb to the top, including the First Ascent blog with daily posts from the climbers, has created an avid online following.
As Viesturs and Whittaker return to Base Camp, the other team members are moving up for their own summit push. Led by another renowned First Ascent guide, Dave Hahn, the second team includes Seth Waterfall, Melissa Arnot and a client. Dave Hahn has more Everest summits than any other non-Sherpa. If successful, this campaign will mark his eleventh summit.
With Whittaker and Viestur’s triumph, Eddie Bauer returns to its roots. In addition to outfitting the 1963 American Mt. Everest Expedition, Eddie Bauer outfitted many other historical first ascents in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. For the past 18 months, Eddie Bauer has been working with their First Ascent guide team in developing the new First Ascent mountaineering gear. The “Return to Everest” expedition marks the expeditionary launch of the new line.
“This is a milestone for us,” Eddie Bauer President and CEO Neil Fiske says. “It puts us literally back on top of the world. We outfitted some of America’s most famous expeditions. And now with First Ascent and this team of climbers, we’re bridging our past with our future.”
Positioned as “guide built gear,” First Ascent takes a new approach to designing and developing gear. Fiske, along with Peter Whittaker, assembled a “dream team” of world-class mountain guides to lead every step of the development process. “Our goal was simple,” said Whittaker, “build the best gear in the world.” Every component of every First Ascent piece was signed-off on by the First Ascent guide team. Because in their words, “We live in the mountains. Our clothes are our life support.”
Five of the six First Ascent guides are participating in the Return to Everest climb. Those five include:
Ed Viesturs The only American to summit all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen, Ed is recognized the world over as a mountaineering legend. This is his seventh Everest summit.
Peter Whittaker Co-owner of Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI), the largest guide service in the U.S., Peter has been a professional mountain guide for 25 years. This is his third Everest expedition and his first summit. Peter has said that part of his motivation on this 2009 climb was to restore some balance to the bragging rights at Whittaker family reunions. By mid-June, more than 50 RMI guides around the world (and many of their clients) will be outfitted in First Ascent gear.
Dave Hahn Acknowledged as America’s leading Himalayan guide, Dave has summited Everest more times (10) than any non-Sherpa in history. This year, he’s guiding a client, and many of his blog posts from the mountain outline the strategies for successfully climbing in the Himalaya.
Melissa Arnot This is Melissa’s second Everest expedition. In 2008, she reached the top as part of EVEREST TEAM INSPI(RED) to help raise awareness for the organization (RED) and its work for people in Africa suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Seth Waterfall While this is his first trip to the Himalaya, Seth has guided on Rainier, Kilimanjaro and Denali; and he has multiple first ski descents to his credit. He’ll be assisting Dave in guiding their client up the mountain.
The continuing drama is unfolding daily on the Born Out There blog: blog.firstascent.com. Groundbreaking video, still photography and written personal accounts by the climbers create a stunning, enthralling experience.
Eddie Bauer’s mountaineering history:
1953 – K2, Pakistan/China
1953 – Logan & Cook, Yukon
1953 – Inca Highway Expedition, South America
1954 – Makalu, Nepal/Tibet
1955 – Lhotse, Nepal/Tibet
* 1958 – Gasherbrum I, Pakistan/China
1958 – Antarctica
1958 – Slick-Johnson Snowman Expedition, Nepal
1959 – Eastern Kanjroba Himal, Nepal
1960 – Andes, South America
* 1960 – Masherbrum, Pakistan/India
1960 – McKinley/Denali, Alaska
** 1963 – Everest (South Col), Nepal/Tibet
* 1963 – Everest (West Ridge), Nepal/Tibet
1964 – McKinley/Denali, Alaska
* 1965 – Kennedy, Yukon
1965 – Antarctica
1966 – McKinley/Denali, Alaska
* 1966 – Vinson Massif, Antarctica
1967 – Andes, Peru
1967 – McKinley/Denali, Alaska
1971 – Everest, Nepal/Tibet
** 1973 – Dhaulagiri, Nepal
** 1974 – Peak Lenin, Russian Pamirs
1974 – Coppermine River, Northwest Territories
1975 – Mt. Logan, Yukon
* 1976 – Nanda Devi (North Ridge), India
1976 – Brooks Range, Alaska
1976 – Thule-Grise Fjord, Canadian Arctic
* 1977 – Great Trango Tower, Pakistan
1978 – Baffin Island, Canadian Arctic
1979 – Vatnajokull Glacier, Iceland
** 1980 – Makalu, Nepal/Tibet
1980 – Dhaulagiri, Nepal
1980 – Ellesmere Island, Canadian Arctic
1981 – Spitsbergen Island, Norway
1981 – Rainier (Pelion Project), Washington State
1981 – Everest, Nepal/Tibet (2)
1982 – Ama Dablam, Nepal
1982 – Ellesmere Island, Canadian Arctic
* 1983 – Everest (East Face), Tibet
1983 – Northwest Passage, Canadian Arctic
2008 – Cotopaxi, Ecuador
2009 – Aconcagua, Argentina
* First Ascent ** First American Ascent
To learn more, visit blog.firstascent.com.
Source: Eddie Bauer