Many new 'friends' to be made online, but what about dollars? - 0 views
-
Even Google has failed to extend its golden touch to social-networking sites. In 2006 Google paid MySpace $900 million to place ads on its pages. The search giant also operates its own social network, Orkut, which has been growing, especially outside the US. But in a February call with financial analysts, Google cofounder Sergey Brin conceded that the investments “didn’t pan out as well as we had hoped…. I don’t think we have the killer best way to advertise and monetize the social networks yet.”
-
“People clearly, especially on the social networks, [are] not particularly interested in clicking on the ads,” says Mr. Brooks, who as editor of socialnetworkingwatch.com has followed the online industry for a decade. “Advertising needs to evolve, and social networks are forcing this change. People are really tired of being assaulted [by ads], but they still love to buy.”
-
As users share personal information within their networks, companies have an opportunity to capture and employ this data for targeted marketing. Social networks are building huge databases about where users go and the people they connect with, says Fred Stutzman, a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina who studies social networks.