Here are a few of the top stories in which eMarketer data and analysis were featured this week:

7/11: Newsweek.com – Twitter Quitters
What’s wrong at Twitter? A better question might be, What’s right? The answer, unfortunately, is not much. A year or two ago this site, which lets you blast out 140-character messages, was poised to become the Next Big Thing in tech, a threat to Facebook and even to Google. Now? Read more.

7/11: ClickZ.com – Do You Know What Your Social Media Marketing Really Costs?
In 2011, social media advertising is projected to be $3.08 billion or roughly 10 percent of the $31.3 billion total online advertising spend, according to eMarketer. As a marketer, your social media marketing expense doesn’t stop there! Read more.

7/12: Forbes.com – Three Reasons Not To Base Your Social Strategy On Facebook
One of the most frequent questions I get from new clients or prospects is, “What should my Facebook strategy be?” Since a recent eMarketer survey showed 61 percent of brand marketers significantly or somewhat increasing their investment in earned media this year, and 43 percent reducing spend on paid media, I get why they’re asking this. Read more.

7/12: USAToday.com – Katango joins social media fray
The bustling social-networking neighborhood just got more crowded. Katango joins the fray Tuesday just days after Google threw down the gauntlet with its social-networking play, Google+, only to be countered by new video calling on Facebook that expands the social experience. Read more.

7/12: TechnologyReview.com – How Much Is a User Worth?
Internet companies are notoriously difficult to value, as investors learned in the dot-com crash 11 years ago. But since the “Web 2.0″ companies fueling this year’s Internet IPOs rely upon having a reliable group of engaged users, they do offer at least one telling metric: the amount of money each user is worth. Read more.

7/12: WSJ.com – Twitter Takes New Step Into Our Psyches
A company’s social ubiquity and utility don’t guarantee riches for investors, but when a commercial entity becomes a new, universally understood word or phrase it’s a pretty good start. Read more.

7/12: AdAge.com – Yes, Video Is a Distinct Medium and TV Ad Dollars Will Feed It
In March, eMarketer released a report declaring that, contrary to the pro-digital pundits, TV ad spending will not be shifting dramatically to digital display. They are partially right. Read more.

7/13: Guardian.co.uk – EMI inks Facebook social games licensing deal with MXP4
EMI has become the first major label to sign a partnership to sell music within a social game on Facebook using the social network’s Facebook Credits virtual currency. Read more.

7/13: Associated Press – Google Social Net Is About Preserving Leadership
Google didn’t build its new Plus service simply to have an online hangout like Facebook. Rather, Google’s new social-networking endeavor is about trying to gain valuable insights into people’s lives and relationships. Read more.

7/13: Reuters.com – Twitter gears up auto-ads for big clients: sources
Twitter is courting bigtime advertisers and will soon allow them to tailor, automate and publish ads in bulk directly onto the Internet microblogging service, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Read more.

7/14: Bloomberg.com – Google’s Challenge to Facebook Seen Eroding Profit as Page Boosts Spending
Google Inc. (GOOG)’s challenge to Facebook Inc. in social networking, an effort analysts said will cost more than $200 million, probably slowed second-quarter profit growth for the world’s largest Web search engine. Read more.

7/14: Mashable.com – 5 Trends Shaping the Mobile Gaming Industry
Mobile gaming has really taken off in the past few years, and the continued growth of the underlying forces — smartphone sales, tablet sales, mobile Internet subscribers and app downloads — all point to a bright future for the industry. Read more.

7/14: USAToday.com – Google+ gains members on limited invites
Google+ is the topic du jour of the Internet savvy pondering the rise of the latest social network. Now, at least one expert pegs Google’s social-networking members at north of 3 million. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry reported Tuesday that Google+ has as many as 3.5 million sign-ups and is off to a “very strong start.” Read more.

7/14: Ecommercetimes.com – Spotify’s Slow Boat Reaches US Shores
Spotify, a popular European streaming music provider, launched in the U.S. on Thursday. The music site is starting off its U.S. venture with an invitation-only beta that includes free, unlimited and premium plans. Read more.

7/14: Businessweek.com – Google Tops Estimates as CEO Page Expands Beyond Search Ads
Google Inc., owner of the world’s largest Internet-search engine, reported sales and profit that topped analysts’ estimates, a sign the company is benefiting from efforts to expand in mobile and display advertising. Read more.

7/15: AdAge.com – Omnicom Inks Deal With Facebook Ads Buyer Blinq Media
Companies can’t buy ads on Facebook fast enough. Omnicom Media Group recently inked a deal with Blinq Media, a New York-based startup that offers bulk ad buying on the social network. Read more.

For more of eMarketer’s recent news coverage, click here.

As music streaming service Spotify debuts in the US, here’s a brief look at the internet radio audience.

eMarketer estimates 37.5% of US internet users ages 12 and up will listen to internet radio—including online streaming of terrestrial broadcasts and online-only radio stations—or podcasts at least weekly this year. On a monthly basis, 44.3% of web users will tune in to online radio.

“It’s a positive and long-overdue development for the U.S. recording industry, with favorable repercussions for brand marketers and consumers,” Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst, told the E-Commerce Times. “Spotify has a good chance of succeeding in the U.S., but to do so, it will have to demonstrate — through the quality of its product and aggressive marketing — that it’s a better value than the likes of Rhapsody, Rdio and MOG.”

Could there be a Facebook and Spotify partnership in the making?

“If the two parties work well together and their current test evolves into a true partnership, Facebook could do for music consumption what it did for social gaming,” suggested Verna. “This relationship has the potential to blossom into a symbiosis along the lines of what we saw with Facebook and Zynga.”

A complete report, “The Internet Radio Audience: Personalized, Mobile and Targetable,” is available for eMarketer Total Access clients.

eMarketer estimates 37.5% of US internet users ages 12 and up will listen to internet radio—including online streaming of terrestrial broadcasts and online-only radio stations—or podcasts at least weekly this year. On a monthly basis, 44.3% of web users will tune in to online radio.

For marketers, the rise of Pandora (who priced its IPO today) and the expansion of terrestrial audiences into online channels is good news.

“There are a range of visual opportunities in the online radio industry that creative directors should pay attention to,” said Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst. “These websites host videos, rich media and banner ads that music enthusiasts will see—and some will engage with. Impressions go beyond the audio portion of the listening experience.”

A complete report, “The Internet Radio Audience: Personalized, Mobile and Targetable,” is available for eMarketer Total Access clients.

Two developments are heating things up again on the music front. First came leaks of negotiations between Apple and the major labels over the company’s plans for music streaming in the wake of its December 2009 acquisition of Lala. Rumors are that Apple is pitching the idea of extending unlimited, cloud-based streaming privileges to music tracks purchased on iTunes. The notion is that if you downloaded a song on iTunes, you’ll no longer need to be at your computer or synchronize your iPod to listen to it. Once you release that song into the cloud, you can access it from any connected device.

There are a million potential wrinkles here. For instance:

(Read more…)