Facebook: What Prospects in 2010?

A timely opinion piece in the UK’s Observer on December 6. The title says it all:  “Facebook now has 350m users – and there’s no point in advertising to them.” Why? Because online advertising “really works” only in the context of search, where user motivation increases the likelihood of interaction with ads.

This is a familiar argument. Of course, we know that many social network users who ignore traditional ads respond favorably to other kinds of marketing. Well-crafted social media campaigns have produced solid and even great results in 2009. Around the world, advertisers will reap the benefits of Facebook’s huge audience in the year to come. But founder Mark Zuckerberg will still struggle to create a sustainable business, according to this article.