MySpace Ad Spending Slumps With Revenue Estimated At $160 Million In Fourth Quarter

December 23, 2008

For more evidence that social networks are suffering from the global ad slowdown look at the expected growth at MySpace.

EMarketer now estimates that for the four calendar quarters of 2008 (MySpace runs on a fiscal year ended in June) U.S. ad revenue will be $585 million. That’s down from a May forecast of $755 million,

For the fourth quarter in particular, eMarketer projects $160 million in spending.

MySpace is a big reason why sales growth has been sluggish overall at Fox Interactive Media, which owns MySpace. Fox Interactive Media, in turn, is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

In the first quarter of this year, growth at Fox Interactive was 80 percent. The second quarter peaked at 87 percent growth, followed by 55 percent in the third quarter and a forecasted 23 percent in the fourth quarter.

Revenue Growth At Fox Interactive Media Has Been Slowing

Revenue Growth At Fox Interactive Media Has Been Slowing

Leave a Comment » | news, web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

Social Networking Sites To See Slower Advertising Growth With Facebook Forecast Down 21%

December 11, 2008

Social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace continue to attract droves of viewers eager to connect with existing friends and meet new ones.

But early efforts to make money from this flood of users appear to be suffering from the global downturn.

EMarketer cut its estimate of social-network advertising revenue for this year and next, saying that in a tight economy experimental ad programs will be the first to go.

This year, U.S. ad spending should be $1.2 billion, a pullback from the $1.4 billion the research firm expected in May. Next year’s revision is a more substantial 28 percent. Ad spending should be $1.3 billion compared with an earlier forecast of $1.8 billion.

Along with the recession, slower growth at MySpace is weighing on the spending, eMarketer said.

At News Corp.’s MySpace ad spending should be $585 million in 2008, down 22.5 percent from the $755 million previously expected. Facebook should see an estimated $210 million this year, which is 20.8% lower than the earlier forecast of $265 million.

Growth in social networking advertising

Growth in social networking advertising

Leave a Comment » | economy, news, web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

Good News For Facebook, MySpace: Online Social Media Ad Budgets Appear Poised To Rise Next Year

November 10, 2008
Good news for Web 2.0 execs like Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook

Good news for Web 2.0 execs like Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook

A new study offers good news for the burgeoning advertising efforts of Web 2.0 social media sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and the like.

While many advertisers consider themselves beginners in placing ads on these sites, they are eager to become more proficient, and many say ad budgets will go up next year despite the economic pressures of a soft economy, according to a study by the Marketing Executives Networking Group, an international trade group.

The Connecticut-based organization conducted a survey of its members last month and found 67 percent consider themselves to be beginners or advanced beginners in using social networking and other Web 2.0 sites that let individuals post their own information, form networks of friends and interact with other people online. Just 17 percent consider themselves to be skilled.

But most seem ready to spend more. The survey found only a small percentage of advertising budgets is now dedicated to social media sites – 76 percent of respondents said less than 10 percent.  But 67 percent said they would significantly or modestly increase spending next year. Thirty-one percent said spending would stay the same.

The survey also found that 69 percent of marketing executives say their ads are just as effective or more effective than ads placed with traditional media, such as television networks, radio stations and print publications. Sixty-eight percent said results were equal to or better than search, display and other online ads, though the majority said they rarely or never do thorough studies of ROI, or return on investment.

The study found that 73 percent advetise on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn; 45 percent advertise on video-sharing sites such as YouTube; and 66 percent use blogs to reach customers.

2 Comments | news, web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

Salesforce-Facebook Alliance May Be More Show Than Substance, But There’s Potential For Bringing A Social Side To Business Apps

November 3, 2008
Big companies might not figure it out, says AMRs Bruce Richardson

Big companies might not figure it out, says AMR's Bruce Richardson

My first reaction to Salesforce.com’s new technology partnership with Facebook was “cool.” My second reaction: what business application could possibly take advantage of these two very different sites?

So with some confusion, I asked AMR Research analyst Bruce Richardson for his views.

“I think it is one of those things where Marc (Benioff, Salesforce.com’s CEO) is way ahead of the planet,” said Richardson. Richardson spoke from the floor of Salesforce.com’s Dreamforce event in San Francisco, where the news came out.

He said he wasn’t convinced it would lead to immediate business for Salesforce.com, the online CRM company. Some small online consumer companies may find it valuable to reach Facebook’s audience of 120 million users. But “I think there are a lot of big companies that won’t be able to figure it out,” he said.

Yet there is potential over time, he says. For instance, the social-networking site Facebook might help bring a social dimension to business software, giving workers access to information about the personal side of colleagues, partners and customers. They might learn, for instance, that the manager of a key account is a big fan of the World Series winning Philadelphia Phillies and send off a congratulatory note

The two companies’ jointly announced Monday a set of software tools that will make it easier to write applications meant to run on both their sites. They gave several examples of the types of applications they had in mind: recruiting, productivity enhancement and project collaboration.

Today the relationship may be more show than substance, but “Marc always manages to surprise,” he said.

1 Comment | news, software, web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

What Does That Facebook Page Say About You? Could It Be Narcissim?

September 22, 2008

Ever wonder what an elaborate Facebook profile says about someone?

Narcissim, according to a University of Georgia study to be published next month in the journal of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

“We found that people who are narcissistic use Facebook in a self-promoting way,” said doctoral student Laura Buffardi, who co-authored the study with associate professor W. Keith Campbell.

The researchers found that narcissistic people have more Facebook friends and wallposts on their profiles. This is how narcissists behave in the real world, holding numerous yet shallow relationships, Buffardi said in a press release.

Narcissists also choose more glamorous, self-promoting pictures for their profile photos instead of ordinary snapshots.

The researchers gave personality questionnaires to about 130 Facebook users and analyzed the content of profile pages. They also let untrained strangers look at Facebook pages and offer their impressions. As social networking sites grow, psychologists have shown an increasing interest in studying them.

1 Comment | web 2.0 | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

Next Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 32 other followers