Social networks just a fad, eh? Well, not if you ask the venture capital firms that just pumped $25 million more into college-level social networking phenomenon Facebook.com. While critics still
wonder when young consumers will get bored with the likes of MySpace and Facebook, moving on to the next coolest thing, investors, media companies and advertisers are left to mull over the
opportunities--and the potential pitfalls--of this red-hot sector of the Internet. Can they have a viable long-term business model? Maybe so, maybe not, but the fact is, these sites are getting
tremendous usage that should be taken advantage of now. Facebook just got more funding, News Corp. just scooped up a job hunting/social network site called SimplyHired, and Visible Path, the new kid
on the sector block, just received $17 million in funding itself. Facebook will settle for the new infusion of cash, although the company had been looking into a possible sale for around $2 billion.
There are no takers there, yet, but the sector remains hot, presenting advertisers with potentially massive audiences of young people. Of course, these sites also have virtually uncontrollable
content, so advertisers have to mull over the pros and cons before jumping in.
Read the whole story at Business Week »
