Page-views are a prime commodity these days! Everybody wants them! Bloggers and marketers alike will pay top dollar for hits.

Just imagine the number of page views a marketer might gain from Myspace, the largest social networking platform.

ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS ARE BIG BUSINESS

Some estimates indicate 75 percent of American teens, for example, have constructed and posted personal profiles on social networking sites, such as Myspace or Facebook (Forbes, 7-23-07, see below).

"Estimated ad revenue for 2007 calendar year for Facebook is $125 million, $525 million for MySpace, according to research firm eMarketer. Together, the two account for 72% of all online advertising on social networks" (Forbes, 7-23-07, see below).

WHO'S MAKING ALL THAT MONEY?

Tom Anderson, the Myspace figurehead, is everyone's friend. If you have a Myspace account, Tom is your friend. He's the go-to guy for questions and comments. Is Tom a real guy? Is he making money from all those user page-views?

Nope! Actually, Murdoch News Corporation owns Myspace. (Surprised?)

In fact, the parent company recently purchased Photobucket, the popular photo-loading and coding site so many Myspace users favor for storing and preparing images for posting (Reuters, 5-30-07, see below).

Myspace has become the cyber-land of pinups and popups, as users (primarily adolescents) post provocative photos of themselves and each other, and advertisers toss promotional banners and ads everywhere.

Facebook, based in Palo Alto, California, began in 2004 as a social platform for college students. Initially, it served Harvard University students, although the site expanded quickly.

In the past year or so, Myspace and Facebook have been losing users. At the same time, other sites have spring up to fill the gap.

WHY NOT PAY USERS FOR PARTICIPATING?

One such site, known as YUWIE, actually pays users for page views. Blogging, posting and updating a profile, attracting page visits from others, and uploading photos or videos all count. Mid-month, the company calculates earnings, which can be deposited into users' PayPal accounts.

If you refer others to join, you can earn from their page views too. This concept is gaining in popularity, as thousands worldwide sign up for the online community. (My author page reflects that I did too!)

Even YUWIE pays only a small percentage to users. However, it can be fairly simple to build a referral tree and start racking up thousands, even tens and hundreds of thousands, of page views. Savvy members claim to earn four to five figures in a given month!

WHAT ELSE IS DIFFERENT ABOUT SUCH A SITE?

Myspace and Facebook boast lurid graphics and photos, posted by users. YUWIE employs a profanity and obscenity filter. Such content simply is not allowed.

WHAT ABOUT SPAMMING?

Myspace and Facebook claim to be anti-spam. Users certainly can be locked out or banned. This happens daily and readily at YUWIE too.

SOURCES:
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/technolo gy/2007/07/20/facebook-myspace -internet-tech-cz_ccm_0723clas s.html
Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article /ousiv/idUSN3046022620070531

Learn more about this author, Linda Ann Nickerson.
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