In the UK Nielsen Online data for April shows that MySpace's unique user numbers were down by a third on the year before. Bebo, bought by Time Warner in March, has largely plateaued in the UK since last summer. Some critics are saying that high growth in visitors to social networking sites is far from assured. That's true but who can deny a fundamental shift that has taken place in online consumer behaviour. The culture of participation is firmly entrenched and people are sharing information with each other without referring to traditional organisations like companies. What's worse for advertisers is the vast number of pages on social media networks and the trouble involved in targetting them at specific users. Advertising though misses the point of the culture of social media networks which are about conversations. For companies to participate they need different strategies. Adverts are about shouting for attention. A good offline example of social media can be seen at 20/20 cricket matches. You've got companies that advertise on the boundaries. Who bothers to read them and then you've got the smart advertisers who supply spectators with cards signallying fours and sixes or who provide cardboard holders for pints with witty cricket messages on such as 'well held' etc. The advertisers going beyond the obvious boundary ads are integrating themselves into the culture of cricket and the conversations and the messages go further. They are penetrating the social side of the game.
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