September 25th, 2006

The Future of YouTube and Myspace

Thought up and
composed by Justin

As a designer I must know my target audience, what media they like, live and trust online and off. So when I see something changing I need to act on it.

Myspace and YouTube, two sites I have enthusiastically pitched to clients increasingly have less relevance. Now, versus just 3 months ago, a Brand page on either site positions that Client as a follower not a leader, undermining the brand. This is the beginning of the end for what was an interesting and over-reported trend: Brand advertising on Myspace and YouTube.

How it began? The advertising world saw the “success” Wendy’s had with its Myspace profile. Wendys put social networking advertising into media plans. More and more advertisers jumped on that bandwagon. Peter Blackshaw, chief marketing officer for Nielsen BuzzMetrics, warned of the issues that could arise when advertisers blurred the lines between authentic content creation and advertising. He was right.

YouTube’s deal with Time Warner only intensifies this danger. Giving Warner its own branded channel and powers such as the right to censor “offensive” material transforms YouTube into portal. One that may be safer for advertisers, but considerably less appealing to YouTube loyalists - the reason advertisers want to be there in the first place.

The era of putting brand content on Myspace and YouTube is coming to an end. This is not to say that advertising on social networks is ending but its time to re-think how we do it. Create the next new trend, let it be over-hyped and let it die. It is an advertising tradition. And, as long as we can help our Clients successfully ride these waves, which means knowing when to get off, we will have done our jobs.

[tags]Myspace, youTube, Time Warner, social networks, web 2.0 [/tags]

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