Myspace: Advertising 101
First, you type in your username and password. You try to remember just what email you used with which Myspace account, because you had to close the last one when your little sister found out your password and flooded your friends with messages about that one time you threw up on yourself in the car (it happens). Upon clicking the “Sign In” button, you enter the realm of Myspace.
Words, words, everywhere, and not a place to think.
Myspace is meant to be a connective social networking site that allows anyone to find other friends, relatives, and random acquaintances online to instantly chat, blog, or message with. Heck, if you search hard enough, you can even find people who took the time to make Myspace pages for and about famous people. But what’s with all of the ads? As soon as you sign on to Myspace, you are immediately met with flashing lights, snazzy lingo, and pop-ups that end up being ignored by your web browser’s pop-up blocker. So after you push away the ads about how fat you are, whether you’re Smarter than a 5th Grader, and about phone plans, you’re left to wonder: How do these ads get on my page?
Restrictions apply to this ad, but not to putting it on Myspace
A Michael Arrington article at TechCrunch describes the process of Myspace advertisements: “Myspace ads are charged on a cost-per-click basis… Advertisers will pay less if their ads tend to be clicked on a lot.” Myspace also has the capability to “target” ads through a system called MyAds, meaning that Myspace can determine your likes and dislikes to create a personalized advertisement for every page. Arrington comments, “So if you only want to target women who live in California between the ages of 25-30 who like motorcycles, [you] can. There are 2,842 of them on MySpace. And if [you] just want to target those in San Francisco, [you] can” (“Myspace Launches ‘MyAds’ self Service Ad Platform: Is This Their Google Moment?”).
So what is this process of taking information filled out in a user’s profile? Caroline McCarthy at CNet.com, in her article on Myspace ads, refers to the phenomenon as “Hypertargeting.” By picking up on different phrases, the first stage of this hypertargeting process has begun with companies like Microsoft, Fox, car companies, and the film industry (“Myspace Gets ‘Hyper’ with Targeted Ads”). For everything that is not hypertargeted, an assumed audience is ever-present that pushes to interest people in their 20s and on the internet, such as phone companies, college loans, quick-cash, and losing 40 pounds in 2 days.
Myspace is full of advertisements. They have many dedicated pages to musicians and comedians that would interest teens who use their social network.
You are one click away from thousands of artists who want you to buy their music.
Need a good laugh? Here's all kinds of comedians just waiting to be heard from by you. Also, buy Cheetos while you're listening to them.
Advertisements have advanced beyond the regular scope of some company wanting to put their ad on a web site for people to click. It’s researched, thorough, and linked to your likes and dislikes as a person. Using information that you post on their social network, Myspace receives revenue for anything you even remotely like. Did you enjoy that Kanye West song? Maybe you’ll love this Brittney Spears track. Myspace has become specific, and their advertisements are directed towards specific audiences.
The “Bling” of Myspace Advertisements
We’ve looked at how Myspace advertises to teens; we’ve looked at how this type of advertisement could possibly affect teens, but what do teens expect from advertising? What do they WANT as a consumer? danah boyd says that they understand that in order for social network sites like Myspace to be free, there needs to be advertising. In fact, they don’t mind ads as long as they are relevant. In one case they do not even consider Myspace marketing as advertising. In the article To Capture Kids, Reconsider Definition of News, Bob Andelman quotes Merrill Lynch equity analyst Lauren Rich Fine’s conversation between her and her daughter about advertising:
Her daughter told Fine that there is no advertising on MySpace. “Show me,” Fine said, curious because she knew she had seen ads there.
Sure enough, her daughter fired up her Web browser and surfed to MySpace.com, which prominently displayed a Nike ad for girls’ soccer shoes. 
”That’s an ad,” Fine said.
”No, it’s not,” her daughter said, “they know I’m interested in soccer. “
”You don’t mind that they follow you, that they know things about you?,” Fine asked. “That it’s an invasion of your privacy?”
”No,” her daughter said. She didn’t see the Nike banner as advertising; she considered it useful information.
The next time Fine saw her daughter on MySpace, she pointed out an ad for eTrade.
”OK,” Mom said, perhaps overconfidently, “what is that all about?”
”They know you’re looking over my shoulder,” her daughter retorted in true Next fashion.
The Myspace generation of teens have never lived in a world where there hasn’t been mass advertising – they’re used to it and have come to take it for granted. Kenneth Musante says that because of all the advertising of one form or another it is one of the ugliest sites on the Internet now – and ironically enough, one of the most popular. Advertising is not deterring teens from “hanging out” online with their friends. Joey deVilla of GlobalNerdy.com makes note of a danah boyd presentation: Myspace culture it’s all about the bling anyway so it’s acceptable to have loud, obnoxious ads.
Annoying, flashing ads like this are okay in Myspace culture
Friends Are a Click Away
Myspace ads are charged by how often they are clicked on (information from Michael Arrington of TechCrunch). The more hits an ad gets, the less the advertisers will pay. So connectivity is key in Myspace advertising. As I log into Myspace right now, on the right hand side is an ad for Toyota yet the picture is not of a car but of a four-guy band named Phoenix. 
What does Phoenix have to do with selling an automobile? Well, if you click on the ad then you have the option of downloading free music, courtesy of Toyota. Chances are many teens are not going to get a new Toyota to drive but who doesn’t like free music?
So how does all this advertising that is just a click away affect teenagers? Some ads are easier to determine is actual advertising than others. 20-year-old Kate has a Myspace account. On her profile she says that she runs track, she listens to Elvis Costello, and she watches to O.C. She seems like your average American 20-year-old right? Wrong. Kate is a character from the movie John Tucker Must Die. Her top three friends are other characters from the movie. Most teens would probably know it is an advertisement but if taken too far, it can become hard for teens to determine what is real and what is not? Brittany Snow is the actress who plays Kate – perhaps Brittany does not really like the O.C., Elvis Costello or running but yet her profile page is set up like it is a “real” profile. In fact, there isn’t even any mention about the movie. 
Researchers from Kaohsiung Medical University have found in a study of 9,405 adolescents that teens can become addicted to the Internet (25% of males and 13% of females). In this particular study, the researchers found that “chatting online, playing video games and visiting sexually oriented Web sites could provide opportunities for teens to ‘observe, experience and try aggressive behaviors resulting in positive outcome, such as identification in a group, being a hero or winning in games.’” While this specific example might not apply directly to Kate from John Tucker Must Die, the study shows that teens can be sucked into another world; they can create a different reality and Myspace can be a confusing place for teens who do not realize the difference. Teens who get lost in Myspace world could suffer in the real world just like “people with poor social skills don’t have any friends, so they spend a lot of time on the Internet” (quoted from Kaohsiung Medical University researchers). As Kenneth Musante, a writer for Adotas explains, “The lure of friendship is a strong one; everyone wants it” – perhaps even in the form of a fictional character from a movie.
Resist the Feed
Advertising on Myspace is definitely a “resist the feed” type of thing (quoted from Feed by M.T. Anderson). 
Just by looking at a profile, it would be quite easy for a company to figure out what things that consumer would buy. The template for Myspace has categories where the user lists general interests and hobbies, music, movies, television, books, where he or she went to school or what companies the user work for, sexual orientation, religion, whether he or she wants children, if user smokes or drinks, body type, occupation, if he or she is married or single, where they live. All of this information is mind-boggling when I sit down and really think about it! It’s a common occurrence on Myspace for bands to message people and say, “I noticed you liked T-Pain and Kanye West: then you’ll love us too!” A simple list of what music a user enjoys suddenly becomes a tool to get the user to buy things (concert tickets, band t-shirts, cds). If a user adds the band to be their “friend” then suddenly the user’s friend list is also an advertising tool. The conclusion I came to is that basically, ALL of Myspace is just one big advertising website.
This really is not the biggest epiphany as I once thought it would be, after I researched the history of Myspace. I have heard a couple stories on the first intentions of Myspace, but in the end the reasoning always boils down to advertising. One story is that bands from Friendster.com where kicked off of the site for promoting their music so rock musicians found a home on Myspace. Trent Lapinski, an online journalist says, “Unlike some sites, MySpace has always also been a part of an advertising company so they have always designed their site with the intention of advertising. Essentially, MySpace users are filling out marketing profiles that are mined by the company that are then presented as these people’s personal Web pages.” The kicker is Myspace is owned by NewsCorp, a “global vertically integrated media company” (quoted from their website) 
– it is “one of the world’s largest media conglomerates” (Wikipedia). So I would say it is a safe assumption that who owns and controls Myspace are very, very interested in what consumers are watching, listening, and reading. Right at NewsCorp’s fingertips is all the information the company needs to know what interests the public and what demographic they fall under.
After I wrote this entry, I found the perfect YouTube video that touches exactly on my creepy findings (and he even uses the word “creepy).
Advertisements’ Advancements… Good or Bad?
Researching the advancements of digital advertisement versus paper advertisement before the internet, the most predominant information I found was that of people trying to advertise. Everyone wants to advertise and advertisements are everywhere. Everyone discusses the advancements that have been made in the advertising world, but no one explains how this phenomenon came to be. We all acknowledge it, but how did it become what it is today? The most relevant bit of information discovered that sums up the advancements is, “If you can’t get the consumer to the store, bring the store to the consumer” (“Adgregate Markets and ShopAds Invades Purchase Funnel”). This is true of every type of advertisement. Companies are all trying to get their products out to be bought, whether it is in a brick and mortar store or online. We are long past the searching and clipping of the Sunday newspaper coupons–everything is now right at your finger tips, and you do not even have to look for it. But regardless of how it got there, the advancement has been made and digital advertisement targets more people and gets the information to them faster.
The way of ads from paper are soon becoming extinct and the internet provides a wider sense of connectivity with consumers.
According to an article I found about digital media before the internet, “The media risk for second graders in 1987 wasn’t accidental access to internet porn or inappropriate content on YouTube. It was exposure to George Michael’s ‘I Want Your Sex’ music video on MTV on television, back when MTV only really played music video” (Balter). I thought this was very telling in terms of how advanced technology has become with the internet and the creation of sites like Myspace. While some of the advertisements can be okay, there are a lot that need to be watched out for. The transition of digital advertisement from paper has also brought a new set of problems to accompany this technological advancement. Now, with so much advertisement out there consumers need to be aware of what is creditable and what is not. Also, what are kids getting into? Porn websites now are just a disguised click away and often found to the left or right side of many different websites.
The internet offers quick and easy access with its ads to take users wherever they want to go. But with that in mind, just what is it that's being marketed to us? While Myspace keeps it centered to entertainment, how far will it eventually go?
There are many pros and cons of this digital advertisement advancement. But with all the negative aspects of this type of “new” advertisement, can it possibly be good morality, or is it just feeding our head with useless information about how to lose weight and how to spend $2.94 a month 0n porn?
You Are What You Buy (Teenagers’ Identity on Myspace)
I think a profound thing I have found during my research on Myspace advertising is the fact that these advertised products are closely associated with teenagers’ identity. This is nothing new (when I was in middle school everyone’s shirts had to have an “Abercrombie” label to be cool and I didn’t understand it; the shirt was just a walking billboard for the clothing company) 
but now it is through a new medium – Myspace! danah boyd (yes, the non-capitalization is intentional), the leading research on social networking from Harvard says, “Identity is not constructed in a void. Much of how teens view themselves is connected to the media around them.” In my experience, English teachers seem to love an expression when it comes to writing: don’t tell them – show them. You could probably apply this concept to how teenagers present their identity on Myspace as well. A teenager will lists his favorite t.v. shows (maybe The Office, South Park, or Scrubs) to display that he has a good sense of humor instead of saying, “I love to laugh.”
Just like my peers from middle school, teenagers on Myspace are benefiting the products they identify with. It’s free advertising and especially with teenagers (or even adults), I’m sure it is a powerful and convincing tool. If “cool” teenagers are watching a certain movie, listening to a particular band, or wearing a specific brand of clothing, their friends are apt to do the same thing. The view then becomes, instead of “you are what you eat” but rather “you are what you BUY.”
The Future of Advertising on Social Networks
So as other posts have suggested, advertising on social networking has a different audience and a different effect on viewers than traditional advertising. So what does the future hold for online advertising in these venues? According to many projectionists, such as Ian Williams of vnunet.com, and Eric Clemmons on TechCrunch, traditional uses of advertising has no future in social networks such as Myspace and Facebook.
Williams states in his article “Traditional Market Failing on Social Networks” that “most marketers still use traditional tactics like run-of-site advertising and static microsites to push messages into these networks” and that “the return on investment in these campaigns is very low, and marketers should be prepared to engage in a personal relationship with users by providing something of value.” He sums the concept up with this statement: “Social networking sites cannot be treated as channels because their members are not passive web pages.” In other words, users come to social networks to interact with their peers and build relationships. If advertisers want to be successful in the future, Williams states, they must tap into the needs of social networkers to connect and interact, rather than watching static ads.
Eric Clemmons backs up this claim in his article, “Why Advertising Is Failing on the Internet.” He argues that “internet shatters all forms of advertising” and that “the problem is not the medium, the problem is the message, and the fact that it is not trusted, not wanted, and needed.” This idea is compelling. The idea that advertising on social networks is no longer trusted by users shows that the long term effects of overwhelming static website advertising has finally taken its toll on the web 2.0 world.
Untrusthworthy and unnecessary, advertisements online are often ignored before being read.
So what is the solution? Clemmons has some strong words for this type of advertisement and what can be done to redirect:
“It is frequently argued that the advertising industry will provide sufficient innovation to replace the loss of traditional ads on traditional mass media. Again, my basic premise rejects this, suggesting that simple commercial messages, pushed through whatever medium, in order to reach a potential customer who is in the middle of doing something else, will fail. It’s not that we no longer need information to initiate or to complete a transaction; rather, we will no longer need advertising to obtain that information. We will see the information we want, when we want it, from sources that we trust more than paid advertising. We will find out what we need to know, when we want to make a commercial transaction of any kind. The conventional wisdom is that this is exactly what paid search helps us to do, but all too often they are nothing more than a form of misdirection.”
The solution then, he says, is to reevaluate what advertising means. Instead of traditional ads that have forever lost the trust of interactive internet and social network users, perhaps the best way to continue making money from internet users and continue the “paid ad” empire, is to stop selling distractions from these networks and engage users by selling them the experience. Social networks can “sell information, charge for participation within the community, or sell accessories for user profiles.”
However, as a web 2.0 user and an active member on many social networking sites, I can see the migratory patterns of users once their bank accounts become involved. Myspace and other social networking sites are successful because they offers users a free forum to interact and communicate with peers. If Myspace charged users for their account, users will most likely migrate to other sites that do not charge.
This is the trap that many social networking sites find themselves in. Their ads are not cashing in the way they originally thought, and many, including Facebook and Myspace, are considering going back to investments rather than becoming public companies (Clemmons). Either way, the idea stands that corporate and individual advertisers need to reevalute advertising because traditional internet advertising tactics are a dying star.
