Bill Wishon’s News and Views

Market research firm eMarketer released a report on Worldwide Online Social Networking Ad Spending today. In the report, Debra Aho Williamson, writes that “Worldwide, online social network ad spending is expected to grow by 81%, to $2.2 billion in 2008 from $1.2 billion this year.”

Williamson’s research also finds that “70% of all US teens visit social network sites on a monthly basis.” As we all know, it’s not just teens either. Many KickApps powered communities are flourishing with adult members (check out the Phoenix Suns’ Planet Orange and DIY Network). Social networks and social media applications have clearly become a big part of people’s lives.

The value in social media isn’t just that people are gathering on a website, it’s about engagement (someone said to me yesterday that “engagement is the new page view.” Discuss…). On top of this, what we’ve always believed and are seeing from our publishing partners is that because of the ‘niche’ nature of their KickApps powered communities, they’re able to offer high value audiences to advertisers in a very targeted manner. This in turn leads to higher CPMs and greater opportunities for publishers to monetize their social media communities.

It’s nice to see it all come together. Sounds like 2008 is going to be an exciting year for us all.