Advertising on Social Networks

Robert Young has another great post on GigaOM. You really need to read the whole thing.

Quick highlights:

"As most now realize, the fundamental problem that social networks face when trying to monetize through an advertising-driven business model is the lack of trust. To be more explicit, while brand advertisers have historically trusted people as consumers, they do not trust them in the new role of producer (e.g. uncontrollable content)

When it comes to advertising in mass media, a big name is required since such campaigns are only effective if the viewer already knows who that celebrity is. But in a social network, micro-celebrities who are well known within their network of micro-communities could prove just as effective and potentially even more so, particularly if such campaigns are able to generate buzz, excitement and a cool-factor."