Articles of the Day
Ads On Social Networking Sites Could Present New Opportunities And Challenges For Brands - New research based on Dynamic Logic’s AdReaction 2007 study, which measures consumer perceptions of various forms of advertising, suggests that social networking websites present a unique platform where brands can connect with consumers.
MySpace Ruled U.S. Social Nets In 2007 - Although Facebook garnered the lion’s share of media attention, News Corp.’s MySpace ruled the U.S. social networking space in terms of sheer volume in 2007, according to new stats from Hitwise.
Time Warner Cable Mulls “Metered” Web Access - According to leaked documents, Time Warner’s cable distributor, Time Warner Cable, is considering changing its ISP service to so-called “metered” access. Metered access, in which consumers pay for the bandwidth they consume, is a fact of life for many Web users across the globe. A memo leaked to the Broadband Reports forum shows that Time Warner will roll out what it calls “Consumption Based Billing” on a trial basis in the Beaumont, Texas, region.
For Social Nets, Future Is Search - Google and other search engines may cede ad revenue to Facebook and Bebo as marketers devote more of their budgets to social networking, says a new study from the UK. The “Impact of Social Networking in the UK” report from Web measurement firm Hitwise claims that 2008 will see social networks improve their monetization, particularly with regard to search.
In Global Game, Facebook Gains On MySpace - Facebook is “supposed to be on a rocket ride”, right? Well, according to Hitwise data, the social networking darling has a 16 percent market share in the U.S., compared to a whopping 72 percent for MySpace. But the Hitwise data “confusing” because the firm fails to qualify “market share.” Do they mean total page views or unique visitors? Worldwide, Facebook has nearly caught up with MySpace, according to comScore, with 93 million unique visitors versus 105 million for MySpace. It’s the same story with page views: 42 billion for Facebook versus 48 billion for MySpace. However, in total time spent on the site, Facebook is the new king, with 21 billion minutes versus 17.
Study: User Faith In Web Sites (But Not Engines) Up - Are Web users losing faith in search engines? A study released today by the University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future suggests the answer may be yes. A slim majority of all Web users, 51%, surveyed by the center, said that most or all of the information they find on search engines like Google is reliable — down from 61% in 2006. But other information on the Internet appears to be gaining in credibility and importance with the public.
