I was first introduced to Myspace.com about six months ago by a friend’s recommendation. For those of you that haven’t heard of myspace (where have you been?), it’s a FREE social networking site, sort of like your average dating site, only it’s for everyone, not just singles. I must admit, I have been quite hooked to myspace since I started using the site.
The founder of myspace has found a way to make quite a living off the site, especially since he sold the site a few months ago for $580 million! To who? Billionaire Fox owner Rupert Murdoch, that’s who. How could a non-pay site started by some twenty-something kid accrue so much value? The answer to that, exposure to advertising. Fox isn’t buying a website, they’re buying a marketing channel that is connected to 30+ million pairs of eyeballs around the globe, typically in the 15-30 year old range. Now that is marketing power! And that advertising can even afford to be somewhat targeted, as 15-30 year olds are part of a demographic that have more in common than you may think. That’s roughly 10% of the entire US population! Why didn’t I think of starting a site like myspace? D’oh!