Generation MySpace Is Getting Fed Up

Annoyed with the ad deluge on social networks, many users are spending less time on the sites
BusinessWeek

Dave’s Comments (Digital Marketing Tutorial Blog): Has the next big thing in online advertising already come and gone, or are the social networking “monetizers” trying so hard to equate unique visitors and time-on-site to advertising dollars that they’re killing the golden goose? Time will tell, but here’s an interesting and not often seen perspective from BusinessWeek on the recent ad-ventures of MySpace and Facebook.

“If you want to socialize with Chris Heritage, you won’t find him on Facebook. The 27-year-old Port St. Lucie (Fla.) business analyst joined the social network last year after his buddies bugged him to get an account. But he soon became fed up with the avalanche of ads, especially those detailing what his friends were buying, and he quit the site in November. Now, Heritage expresses himself through a blog, happy to pay $6 a month to publish on a promo-free Web site. “It’s worth it to not have to look at the ads,” he says.

Uh-oh. Social networking was supposed to be the Next Big Thing on the Internet. MySpace, Facebook, and other sites have been attracting millions of new users, building sprawling sites that companies are banking on to trigger an online advertising boom. Trouble is, the boom isn’t booming anymore. Like Heritage, many people are spending less time on social networking sites or signing off altogether.”

Read the entire article on BusinessWeek.com.