private network sites are suddenly rising to the top of the Alexa ranked sites on the internet, as well as blazing a steep trail through the stock market. So, what is causing the sudden rise is both arenas? What is causing their amazing success, and what kind of impact will their users have upon the economy? The truth of these questions is pretty simple, however the nature and depth upon how they will affect our future and society as a whole is totally a mystery. One of the main areas that will be affected by these social network societies are charities, and the ratio of donations that will be provided to them through the e-commerce which occurs within social networking sites.
First and foremost, the success of a social network is due to the amount of functionality that it provides to its users. From the dawn of the social network age, people have had simple desires and demands. Because of this fact, up until now, the success of a social network is dependent upon how many demands that it meets for its users, as well as the quality of the manner in which they meet these demands. Users want to meet new and interesting people, as well as keep in touch with friends and family. However, they don’t want to have to travel, or spend a lot of time and money through the process of doing so. Social networking sites allow users to trade messages and comments with people near and far, as well as to share pictures, videos, music, and to express their thoughts and emotions through the content and design of their profiles.
However, user needs and demands have evolved and developed over the years. As competition has grown within the social network industry, users have begun to expect the latest and greatest features and functionality within their social network. Many social network users have invested a great deal of time each and every week with communicating with their friends, and have become accustomed to spending several hours online each and every day. That, combined with the fact that social networks introduced advertising within their sites, has allowed users to now become accustomed to the fact that they can accomplish even more through their favorite social network in regards to being a consumer. Now, they can find amazing products and services through their social network, which allows them to purchase a product or service without leaving their home, or their social network for that fact! Instead of having to leave their social network to surf and shop for products, now then can find some truly amazing deals within their social network.
Users are participating in purchasing products and services found within social network sites so much, that a tremendous amount of earnings have been realized within some of the most successful social networks on the internet. In a report submitted by eMarketer back in 2007, MySpace, still the most popular social network by far, was estimated to generate $525 million in U.S. advertising revenue. Facebook, a fast growing competitor of MySpace earned around $125 million, and both were projected to have significant advertising revenue growth over the coming years. Combined, MySpace and Facebook are projected to account for 75% of social network advertising spending in 2008. Advertising revenue generated within social networks is an obvious trend which indicates that more and more social network users are looking for products and services while they are utilizing their social networks.
Along with advertising revenue being generated for the social networks, a new opportunity presents itself for the charity community. Business owners and internet marketers, who wish to assist charities by donating a portion of proceeds to charity from their earned advertising revenue, will allow charities to also benefit from their new found successes. More and more internet marketers and businesses are beginning to realize that they have the greatest ability to assist charities through this means, either on their own or through the efforts of the marketing and business opportunity representatives within the charity community. Thus, the number of charity aware advertisers within social networks are growing each and every day. At the beginning of 2007, within Facebook, the social network which put applications or widgets on the “social networking map”, had charity awareness applications numbering in the tens. Now, in 2008, you can find hundreds of applications within Facebook which either raise charity awareness, allow users to donate directly to charity, or utilize online advertising for money-saving products which donate a portion of proceeds to charity.
