Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Next big thing
With a $15 billion valuation for Facebook, it seems that social networking is destined for huge monetization opportunities. Yet, a variety of venture capitalists have expressed some skepticism lately. Basically, it’s not easy advertising to the social networking crowd (as seen with Facebook’s Beacon initiative).
This week, eMarketer published a study that forecasts that social networking advertising is expected to reach $4 billion by 2011 (on a global basis).
Keep in mind, though, that research firms don’t have clear-cut crystal balls. It’s not uncommon for them to get too aggressive on these estimates. Also, in the realm of the frothy Internet, the $4 billion figure does seem a bit muted — especially in light of some of the recent valuations.
Something else: eMarketer thinks that about half of all online adults will be on social networks by 2011. Really?
I can certainly understand that teens will remain avid. But, adults have other things to do besides social networking (such as making a living, taking care of kids, and so on). In other words, if eMarketer is counting on adults for social networking riches, it might want to think again.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Entries (RSS)