Seth Goldstein IAB Keynote: ‘Social Media’ Is Killing Internet Advertising
SocialMedia Network’s CEO, Seth Goldstein, made a rather audacious statement at the IAB Social Media conference today: “Social Media is killing internet advertising”.
While it seems an odd conclusion coming from the eponymic advertising company, it’s true. Since the birth of online advertising, traditional modes of advertising have lost their effectiveness online as users have become less interested in branded content and more interested in each other.
On display was a graph showing just how profound this decline can be:
(note: I have a feeling that some of the change can be explained by the profound increase of page views diluting CTRs)
In response to this problem, Seth proposed that advertising needs to shift from a “shouting” model (one big ad on a content site), to a quieter form of advertising that speaks to users, alluding to a new advertising product to be launched by Social Media Networks in the Fall.
You can see more press on the keynote below:
Seth Goldstein: Beacon Set Industry Back
Exec: Ad industry must think small to tap social sites
Social Network CPMs: A Penny Arcade