Social Media is Hot – $25 Billion in Social Media M&A in Past 2 Years
Social Media is the Web 2.0 version of “interactive”. I’ve been saying for some time that social media is taking the same path that the early interactive (web site) took in 1995.
Confirmation comes in the form of this report. This is very relevant. Hope to see more of this kind of data.
A revealing new report on monetizing social media predicts everyone but Facebook stands to make money under the current business structure of leading social networks. The study, the latest from ContentNext Media, Inc. and authored by renowned analyst Lauren Rich Fine, compares the top social network to a local mall, suggesting “it might be time to start charging rent” to be on the platform, as mobile carriers already do.
As things stand, “there’s a real danger that application developers who use the facebook platform will become quite profitable while the host corporation will not,” says Fine. “Advertising on social nets will never be commensurate with the amount of time people spend on them. And facebook has made several failed attempts at innovative marketing efforts that members loudly rejected.”
Other findings from the report:
* There has been more than $25.5 billion in social media M&A and investment activity in 902 transactions over the past 27 months.
* Gaming is the largest sub-category in VC funding — with more than $800 million raised.
* Outside of gaming, excitement around virtual currency could come to a screeching halt given the predominant “novelty” factor present in the enthusiasm.
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