But, I thought it was supposed to be social?

ComScore came out with a report that shows how important social media has become...to traditional advertisers.

The report shows that 20% of all online display ads (you know, the flashing, spinning, click me's that are priced on delivery rather than impact) are served via such social stalwarts as Facebook, MySpace and DeviantArt (well, ok, not all of them are stalwarts).

chart via Comscore (here)

So what?

For one, it means that the wireless companies think social media is where there prospective customers are...you know, the kids, mom, dad...even the dog. Because wireless companies AT+T, Sprint and Verizon represent 3 of the top 10 display advertisers in the social media space. And they'd be right...their customers are online. Everyone is. At least if they are under the age of 65 (here). Wouldn't you think though that the wireless carriers would try to advertise in the mobile stream they already own? Or do they know that their customer would rise up against the

intrusion machine in their mobile space?

Second, the data may mean that alot of media buying agencies don't really get social media. Because if you are buying display ads in social media, then you either: (A) have surplus ad dollars to spend; or (B) beleive that social media users are there to passively react to what they see. And while that may be true for some, anyone who uses social media regularly knows that you are more likely to be sending friends virtual puppies, taking quizzes to determine what kind of candy bar you'd be, or tagging yourself in your friends photo albums...in addition to networking and commenting on posts about all manner of social media topics of course.

What people on social networks were supposed to do, as opposed to what they did on Web 1.0 sites, was be social...make the network ours. Engage others. Lean in. Interact...have fun. Display advertising is, by its very nature, a solitary act of cognition. You may see it (see banner blindness). It may be relevant. It might be in context. But what makes it social?

In the end, the fact that we're talking about impressions served...and not mice clicked or pass-alongs...or tweet memes...probably says everything we need to know about display ads on social networks: They're just another attempt to force fit square marketing tactics into round media holes.

Prior post on social network advertising from 2009 South By Southwest interactive session (here).

Time and motion: online video

While Federal Reserve Governors continued to list inflation as their 2009 new year's resolution, at least one aspect of our lives into the new year is already rapidly inflating: the amount of time spent watching videos online.

Comscore released its numbers and the rise looks like this: a 40% jump in one year in the number of videos viewed online. In addition, the average length of a video viewed was a whopping 3.1 minutes. (See chart below or press release).

So what?

Google (which is YouTube) dominates...more than 5 Billion served in one month...followed by MySpace (which is the Fox Interactive Media number). But what the numbers also may be saying is this:

1. Broadband is enabling the rapid growth of video online.

2. Cheap digital video capture devices are continuing the growth of user-generated video online (prior post on mobile video here)

3. There is a role for professionally produced video online (via traditional network sites like Hulu, Disney, Turner) it just doesn't look like double-digit share online.

We've said it before, but if you are a network, you want all the content you can get your hands on. If you are a content producer, you want to be on the network with the broadest exposure...YouTube fits the bill. As does MySpace and certain others who let anyone be a content creator...

And in another irony of the online marketplace of ideas, some are even taking YouTube video to the big screen (see here)

Now, if the Fed, er, Google could just figure out how their YouTube debt can be monetized...

Mobile Video: an army of amateurs

Comscore has released its latest 3-month stats on mobile video use and the numbers are interesting for two reasons:

1. More than one-third of all mobile subscribers in the US have watched video on their device

2. Amateur video clips represent the most viewed type of video followed by music and comedy videos

While a single data point certainly does not equal a trend, the growing number of mobile subscribers accessing video supports the notion of anywhere, anytime, anydata connectivity becoming the expectation. 

It also speaks to the growing value that people are finding in their mobile devices, making the mobile device something most would have difficulty giving up (see here for data on wants vs. needs). 

The predominance of amateur and short form video, combined with the resistance to marketing on mobile devices, suggests marketers will have to find ways to engage amateur's (customers?)--either as content providers or as willing participants in the distribution of any mobile videomarketing effort.

Prior postings on mobile here and here.

Comscore press release here