Consumer Corner : myspace

State of the Social Sphere

Mike Phillips — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:15:00 GMT

Pew Internet & American Life Project's December 2008 tracking survey revealed some insight into users' online social networking behavior. There are few surprises, but some important points to note. First, the use of social networks has quadrupled since 2005. However, that's largely due to users discovering these sites for the first time. Facebook wasn't founded until 2004 and then it was for college students only.

The bulk of users are young adults, but the number of those using these networks is staggering. A full 75% of online adults ages 18-24 are using social networks, 57% of those 25-34 and 30% of those 35-44, according to the study.

Networks are being used for mostly personal reasons, with 89% reporting they use the sites to "Stay in touch with friends," and 49% claiming "Make new friends." But there are certainly business users, with 28% claiming "Make new business or professional contacts," and 28% reporting, "Promote yourself or your work."

Another interesting note is the use of multiple profiles. A full 51% reported having two or more online profiles. In another interesting note, just 36% of users reported having an open, public-facing profile. The rest are viewable by invitation only.

And if you're interested in marketing through social networks, this report suggests you should target students and minorities. According to the study, 68% of full-time students and 71% of part-time students have a social profile(s), compared to just 28% of non-student adults. Also, 31% of white adults are using the sites, compared to 43% of African-Americans and 48% of Hispanics. You can read more of the report here.

Facebook Overtakes MySpace

Mike Phillips — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:28:00 GMT

For the first time, according to the latest data from Compete, Facebook outdrew MySpace in terms of unique visitors. But Facebook isn't the fastest growing network. Twitter's numbers grew 27.6% in December, and 752% for the year. LinkedIn is up 152% for the year. In fact, the only one here that's losing traffic is MySpace. They better figure out a way to grab a new audience, and fast. Their demographic is growing up. See below for the Compete data.

MySpace Mobile Integrates Mobile Video

Mike Phillips — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:06:00 GMT

MySpace recently made news with the release of their improved music portal. Now the social network is adding another media arrow in their quiver with the release of MySpace video for mobile in conjunction with RipCode, an online video solution provider. It's the first mobile video streaming service for a social network, a big step in the social media wars. Users with video-enabled devices will be able to view videos they upload, or mark as favorites. According to their press release, MySpace Mobile (m.myspace.com) receives approximately three billion page views per month worldwide.

Also from the press release, is this telling quote from RipCode CEO Brendon Mills: "As the volume of video grows and the number of mobile devices supporting video continues to expand, companies have to find alternative solutions to deliver content to their customers across multiple screens." Although mobile video might be a ways off for most mobile consumers, it's never too early to start. For videographers, artists, bloggers, businesses ... MySpace video looks to be a good first step.

Oodle Takes over Facebook's Classifieds

Mike Phillips — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:44:00 GMT

We recently wrote about the surge in online classifieds, and how it can be a significant force for online retailers. One of those sites, Oodle, has just agreed to take over the struggling Facebook Marketplace. Just like attempts to monetize everything else in the social networking world, classifieds have proven difficult. But Oodle looks to change that, by turning friends into marketers, and sales pitches into recommendations.

“In many cases, finding good homes for items we are no longer using is more important than selling them at the highest price,” Oodle CEO Craig Donato said in a statement. “For example, when I have extra tickets to a concert, I’d prefer to give them to a friend or sell them at face-value to someone I work with. We’re focused on making this simple to do with Marketplace.”

Oodle stands to gain even more traction in the online classified marketplace. They already are one of the fastest growing (up 93% this year) and Oodle also handles classifieds for MySpace. In short, if you're not already listing with Oodle, now is the time to get involved. The new release of Facebook Marketplace is set for the first quarter of 2009.

Can't-Miss Black Friday Websites and Resources

Mike Phillips — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:13:00 GMT

According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, 72.0 percent of consumers have completed less than 10 percent of their shopping. So, that means the upcoming weeks are going to be big for consumers and retailers, especially online retailers.

Online

BFads.net: This site features thousands of Black Friday ads, updated several times per day. Registering on the site lets you create a shopping list, where you can select various items from their corresponding stores, and print out the ads and coupons. There are also articles on the site to help you get the most out of Black Friday, and get some tips and reviews on popular products.

Black-Friday.net: Many of the deals here are early releases by the retailers, but some are "stolen" from the printing presses of insider employees and leaked to the website. Create a shopping list here and you will be notified on Thanksgiving Day of which items you selected are in stock and available to purchase online. This site also features "doorbusters," items heavily discounted only in the early morning hours of Black Friday.

GottaDeal: Along with standard ads, there is a timeline of what you can expect on the site. The online section lists deals available for immediate purchase at the Black Friday price or "sometimes even cheaper." This is a pretty good place to check before making a final purchase to make sure you're getting the best deal.

Amazon: Of course Amazon has a Black Friday site. Associates can choose from a variety of widgets and include Gold Box hourly deals to entice consumers to purchase.

Mobile

This year more than ever, your mobile device could come in handy while shopping on Black Friday while in stores. BFads' mobile site is stripped down, and that's a good thing. It's quick to respond and easy to navigate - http://m.bfads.net. GottaDeal's mobile site is also handy, though not quite as user-friendly - http://blackfriday.gottadeal.mobi.

iPhone - SaveBenjis: Enter a product name or scan a bar code and make sure you're getting the best price.

Android - Compare Everywhere: Same function as Save Benjis, using a bar code scanner. Field tests by Website Magazine's staff have been very positive.

Twitter Black Friday: It seems only natural, Twitter Black Friday. Currently 609 followers and regularly updated, a nice way to see what retailers are offering out there, provided by shoppingblog.com.

Missed Opportunity

The "Biggest Missed Opportunity" award goes to two of the most trafficked sites on the Internet - Facebook and MySpace. There's hardly a mention of Black Friday opportunities and a search finds mostly bands. Facebook does have a Black Friday group, with all of 199 members, and one wall post since August.

While eBay Freefalls, Consumers Move To Online Classifieds

Mike Phillips — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:50:00 GMT

For a very long time, eBay has owned the alternative marketplace. It has been a place for consumers to find good deals and for sellers to unload product in a seemingly user-friendly environment. But things have changed. Whether because of eBay's ever-changing and ever-increasing seller fees (not to mention PayPal's cut), or the fact that consumers are tiring of online bidding wars, eBay is losing ground - and quickly. A look at their traffic using Compete.com shows a drop of more than 10 million unique visits since March, 2008. December saw eBay's uniques reach nearly 80 million. Last month, that number peaked at just over 64 million. Overall, eBay has lost 13.2% of its unique traffic since last year. And it's not just eBay suffering. UBid.com, another online auction site, has seen their traffic drop more than 58% this year.

So, it's time to find some alternatives - not just to eBay but to online auctions in general. And one marketplace that's thriving is online classified ads. It's time to get back to salesmanship - selling face-to-face, albeit in a high-tech world. Below are some alternatives:

Craigslist - the kingpin of online classified sites, and the biggest free-for-all on the Internet. You can buy and list just about anything here, and I mean anything, in every major city in the U.S. It's bare-bones and perhaps not the best place for branding, but the numbers demand attention. Craigslist's traffic is up more than 50% this year, with approximately 40 million visits last month.

Oodle.com - one of the fasted growing online classified sites. Traffic at Oodle.com is up more than 93% this year. Ad placement is free with unlimited text and up to four pictures, and will remain live on the site for 30 days. When you place an ad through Oodle, it's automatically submitted to "hundreds of other sites," including GoogleBase, Lycos Classifieds and Local.com.

Kijiji - eBay's free classified site celebrated their one-year anniversary in June. Currently the site sees about 2.5 million unique visits per month, up 66% from last year. Leveraging eBay's foothold, Kijiji sites are available in more than 1,000 cities and countries around the world. Craigslist and Kijiji are currently suing each other.

A few other alternatives:

MySpace Classifieds is an attractive option, if only because of the sheer number of users of the networking site. StumbleHere.com will take your classified ad and submit it to many other sites, including MySpace, Oodle, craigslist and Wal-Mart Classifieds. Finally, don't rule out your local newspaper's website. People still read the local news and still break out the virtual red pen to search for deals in their local area. Traffic is up this year for the online versions of The Los Angeles Times (136%), The New York Times (46%) and the Chicago Tribune (89%).

MySpace Announcement Good for Consumers, Good for You

Mike Phillips — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:58:00 GMT

MySpace has announced a video partnership with Auditude that will give consumers access to previously copyrighted material and publishers the ability to bulk up their video offerings.

In a unique approach to solving the copyright problem with video sharing sites, MySpace and Auditude will "fingerprint" videos, matching them - and corresponding or attached advertisements - to their content owners. This means that even if copyrighted material is uploaded by a non-owner, any ad revenue generated from the video and an accompanying advertisement promoting the rightful owner of the content will be rewarded. In one motion, MySpace and Auditude have posed a very intriguing solution to not only video copyright infringement, but also to monetizing online video. Now, copyright-owned video can not only generate revenue, but can also be spread all across the Internet without fear of losing out on valuable ad impressions and promotional opportunities.

So what does this have to do with you? Even if you don't use MySpace or don't promote your website through MySpace, it still hold significance. It's not new news that video on your website can increase traffic and time on your site. Add in the ability to post copyrighted, premium content and you're looking at a big opportunity to be a destination site for visitors.

Some online video programming is highly sought after, but difficult to find - Saturday Night Live clips and Family Guy episodes, for example. These are copyrighted videos that can only be seen on their respective owners' sites. But what if your website had some of that video content? Pretty soon, you could head to MySpace, find the videos and embed them on your site (there are ways to embed MySpace videos, including simply adding a </embed> tag to the end of the 'Add this video to your profile' code.) Of course, SNL and Family Guy might not fit your site's theme, but there are others, including MTV videos, one of the most copyright-pirated video segments around. Take a look at the chart below. Riding the wave of the recent political landscape, Saturday Night Live has seen a massive surge in viewership, and so has nbc.com, where SNL clips are found - maybe yoursite.com could ride that wave too, as soon as these videos are available to you.

Now, there's another big bonus here. You can copyright your own videos and not have to worry that someone else is profiting off of your material. Of course, this means that you will want to produce high-quality video to warrant the exclusive feel of copyright material worthy of a user's attention.

It's my guess that if this model works, you're going to see many other video sites join the fray. So stay tuned to this development, we could be on the brink of an entirely new era in online video monetization and syndication.