As a die hard Basketball fan and as a novice sports writer I was thrilled to hear the news from Sportingo and FIBA. Together FIBA and Sportingo will collaborate on extending Basketball stories, news and commentaries to Basketball fans around the world.

The deal is yet another case study for the quick evolution of neo-journalism. Sportingo is a highly growing user generated content platform dedicated to sports fans around the world. FIBA is a heavyweight basketball mainstream media player. Both need each other and can help each other reach new markets and depth. Sportingo will now be enabling people that are interested in basketball from around the world get their content properly integrated. This way the reader gets to encounter off topic stories such as basketball in Jordan  as well as cover story materials such as Kobe wanting out of the Lakers.

To me Sportingo is proving that “user generated” content can actually mean better quality. There is a near infinite pool of talented sports fans who can write out there, that is if you know how to find and recruit them. At the end of the day, however, user generated content must integrate with mainstream sports media - where the intimate information is and where the large reader base already spends time and attention. Such integration is a must if you look to compete for being the sports fan choice for sports media.

The deal with FIBA is the third such deal Sportingo has put together, following similar deals with the Davis Cup and the New Zealand Rugby Team.