Web 2.0 & Social Networking

This publication has been discontinued on November 23, 2011.

Introduction

Abstract

This report provides analysis of the outstanding Web 2.0 phenomena, namely video sharing and social networks whose community aspects are spreading to most corners of the internet. It provides details on current usage levels, key web player strategies, pioneer initiatives to monetise the community and the development of a new paradigm, based on the social graph and interoperability tools.

• Leading Web 2.0 consumption trends
• Web 2.0 player strategies
• Role being played by the Web 1.0 heavyweights
• Are there any viable Web 2.0 business models?
• Is advertising the sole available source of income?
• Will social networks become interoperable?
• Is the social graph the future of the internet?

Table of Contents

1. Web 2.0: consumption and leading players

• 1.1. Rise in 2.0 consumption
  • 1.1.1. Activity concentrated around social networks
  • 1.1.2. Spanning across the generations
  • 1.1.3. Sizeable geographical disparities
  • 1.1.4. 2.0 spreading across the web, and beyond
• 1.2. Who are the key Web 2.0 players?
  • 1.2.1. Internet giants trying to make up for lost time
  • 1.2.2. New giants of the community web
  • 1.2.3. The new Web 2.0 wave
  • 1.2.4. Other key community players
• 1.3. Video sharing, a central component of Web 2.0
  • 1.3.1. Sharp uptake in video consumption.
  • 1.3.2. Market dominated by YouTube.....
  • 1.3.3. ..... and several outstanding local players

2. Social graph and data portability

• 2.1. API & main Web 2.0 tools
  • 2.1.1. APIs
  • 2.1.2. Other main tools
• 2.2. Hosting platforms
• 2.3. Social graph and interoperability
  • 2.3.1. Definition
  • 2.3.2. Data portability
  • 2.3.3. Platform interoperability
  • 2.3.4. Initiatives from other Web 2.0 players
• 2.4. Marketing of the future: tapping into an internet-wide social graph?
  • 2.4.1. Existing services
  • 2.4.2. Extended social graph

3. Web 2.0: where' s the money?

• 3.1. Advertising: an essential source of revenue, but not enough
  • 3.1.1. A narrow and duopolistic advertising market
  • 3.1.2. Can 1.0 ad formats work on Web 2.0?
  • 3.1.3. Advertising needs to adapt to the 2.0 environment
• 3.2. Other sources of revenue to tap into on Web 2.0
  • 3.2.1. White label technology sales
  • 3.2.2. Sale of premium services
  • 3.2.3. E-commerce
• 3.3. Who will survive Web 2.0?
  • 3.3.1. Few Web 2.0 sites can sustain themselves over the long haul
  • 3.3.2. Takeovers on the horizon

Tables

• Table 1: Web 1.0 giants' main Web 2.0 takeovers and share acquisitions
• Table 2: Web 1.0 giants' main acquisitions in the online advertising market
• Table 3: Top 20 websites by country, according to the Alexa traffic rankings
• Table 4: Micro-blogging services
• Table 5: Online video viewing in April 2007, by country
• Table 6: YouTube and Dailymotion, two central players in the online video market
• Table 7: A selection of microformats
• Table 8: The pioneers
• Table 9: OpenSocial partners
• Table 10: Forms of online advertising
• Table 11: Most widely-used widgets* on Facebook in the United States, in November 2007
• Table 12: Classification of the types of premium services marketed by 2.0 sites
• Table 13: Media and telecom companies' Web 2.0 initiatives

Figures

• Figure 1: Increase in traffic on Web 2.0 sites in the United States, 2006-2007
• Figure 2: Percentage of internet users, ages 16 to 54, who have created a user profile on a social network in a selection of countries, 2006-2008
• Figure 3: Growth in the number of monthly unique visitors from around the globe to the top social networks, 2006-2008
• Figure 4: Percentage of American internet users who state they use a social network, in February 2008
• Figure 5: Breakdown of social network membership in the UK, by age group, as of August 2007
• Figure 6: Breakdown of social network traffic in June 2007, by geographical provenance
• Figure 7: The most popular social networks around the globe in August 2007
• Figure 8: Growth of MySpace and Facebook traffic in the United States, 2006-2008
• Figure 9: Growth of market share for the top social networks in the United States, 2007-2008
• Figure 10: Number of unique monthly visitors to MySpace and Facebook worldwide, 2007-2008
• Figure 11: Average number visitors on MySpace and Facebook worldwide, 2007-2008
• Figure 12: Twhirl, one of the most popular Twitter third-party apps
• Figure 13: Amazon page on Twitter
• Figure 14: Growth of the number of unique visitors a month on FriendFeed in the United States, May 2007 to May 2008
• Figure 15: Number of videos watched online in the United States
• Figure 16: Number of unique viewers on video sites in the United States
• Figure 17: Percentage of internet users in the US who have watched a video online
• Figure 18: Average time spent by an internet user in the US watching videos online
• Figure 19: Leading video sites in the United States by number videos viewed, in March 2008
• Figure 20: Leading video sites in the United States by number of unique visitors, in March 2008
• Figure 21: Market share for online video sites in France, by number videos watched, in January 2008
• Figure 22: Market share for online video sites in France, by number of unique viewers, January 2008
• Figure 23: Microformat layers
• Figure 24: Comparison of two results for the same search on Yahoo!
• Figure 25: Description of the Google Social Graph API
• Figure 26: Technical description of OpenSocial
• Figure 27: Example of a Dopplr member' s personal page
• Figure 28: Amazon recommendations
• Figure 29: Growth of advertising spending on social networks in the United States and worldwide, 2006 - 2011
• Figure 30: Growth of the share of online advertising monies earmarked for social networks in United States, 2006 - 2012
• Figure 31: Breakdown of ad spending on social networks in the United States, in 2007 and 2008
• Figure 32: Social network users' response to the question: “What portion of ads seen on social networks on the web correspond to your personal needs, preferences and interests?”
• Figure 33: Social network users' response to the question: “Do you ever click on the ads you seen social networks on the web?”
• Figure 34: Advertising feedback system put in place by Facebook
• Figure 35: Facebook allows users to opt out of Beacon
• Figure 36: Advertising for Vitaminwater in a Slide widget
• Figure 37: Verizon Business Page on Facebook
• Figure 38: Web 2.0 market for enterprises, by type of tool, in 2007
• Figure 39: E-commerce market growth
• Figure 40: Breakdown of Cyworld income, by source of revenue
• Figure 41: Breakdown of items sold, by type

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