Global Faces & Networked Places

... or the rise of the social network and the associated challenges for advertisers.

A very interesting report recently released by Nielsen highlights the growth of "member communities" on the web (2/3 of the Internet's population visit such communities and time spent there now accounts for more that 10% of all internet usage). For me, the most interesting section of the report concerns how advertisers and agencies must act in this new (for them) environment. Few have got this right to date even if we have long since recognised that ads must add value in some way to the community, be authentic and engage participants in a conversation rather than simply shouting their pitch. The truth remains that until a new ad model emerges the agencies will continue to struggle, but we are inching closer...

The full report is here...