A recent article in the Los Angeles Times indicated NewsCorp’s social networking site, MySpace.com could be open to user advertising in the near future.  The Internet’s number one social networking site earned an estimated $550 million dollars from its bread and butter corporate advertisers in 2007.  The pressure to allow user ads comes mostly from the site’s biggest competitor, Facebook.com, which allows users to promote their products via the site to a certain extent. 

MySpace’s immediate plans are not known, however, executives and employees at the company indicate users may have increased flexibility promoting their own goods in the near future.  A selling model similar to eBay’s was discussed in the article, reinforcing MySpace’s stance on maintaining a safe and secure site. 

As the internet’s most highly traffiked site in terms of unique visitors, the reasons for not allowing consumer to consumer advertising are often puzzling.  Especially considering the site’s primary demographic, which is comprised of teens and young adults with the deadly combination of disposable incomes and a strong pulse on anything media related. 

While MySpace won’t officially say it’s going to allow peer-to-peer advertising, however the Los Angeles Times article elluded to ’something’ big on the horizon.  One would assume so considering MySpace lost 27% percent of its teens as of July 2007 according to ComScore Media Metrix as reported by Forbes.com. 

In a July article, Reuters reported that spending on web video will bring in an estimated $4.3 billion in revenue - a 40 percent growth from the $775 million expected to come in by year’s end.  Online advertising executives base the rapid climb on the increase in the number of consumers switching to high speed internet services. 

The report pertains only to U.S. web video ads, where alone, currently over 50 percent of the population is expected to have viewed some form of online video.  Online video giants such as YouTube are considerably responsible for the increase in viewership in their ability to bring online video to the masses. 

The mediums are changing as well with the release of the Apple iPhone and other mobile devices that greatly improve the sophistication and delivery of video advertisements. 

Over three billion dollars is still in the air (or the caverns of high-security banks) as Google Inc. continues to pursue online advertising business, DoubleClick Inc. While the acquisition has been under review for several months, competitors lead by Microsoft Corp. and AT&T and public interest groups alike have attempted to halt the move, claiming it would give Google too much control of the market. 

Too much control of a $21 billion dollar market that is.  The latest strategy to block Google’s purchase is one that has shaped our current economy and popularized games like ‘Monopoly’. What could possibly stop Google from taking over the online advertising industry all together?  An antitrust review is in the works, both by the Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission.  

The key issue at hand is the control of personal data that Google and DoubleClick both have a whole lot of on their own, and combined, would have a one-two industry punch never seen before. 

The deal is currently under federal review.