An excerpt from P&G Digital Guru Not Sure Marketers Belong on Facebook (registration is required):
Social networks may never find the ad dollars they’re hunting for because they don’t really have a right to them, said Ted McConnell, general manager-interactive marketing and innovation at Procter & Gamble Co.In a talk to the Digital Non-Conference, Mr. McConnell pointed to the drumbeat of complaints about social networks being unable to monetize their sites.
“I have a reaction to that as a consumer advocate and an advertiser,” he said. “What in heaven’s name made you think you could monetize the real estate in which somebody is breaking up with their girlfriend?”
He went on to apply a similar standard to the broader world of consumer-generated media. “I think when we call it ‘consumer-generated media,’ we’re being predatory,” he said. “Who said this is media? Media is something you can buy and sell. Media contains inventory. Media contains blank spaces. Consumers weren’t trying to generate media. They were trying to talk to somebody. So it just seems a bit arrogant. … We hijack their own conversations, their own thoughts and feelings, and try to monetize it.”
While it’s not a company policy, but rather a personal preference, Mr. McConnell said, “I really don’t want to buy any more banner ads on Facebook.”
Next time you meet someone whilst presenting your “Web 2.0” idea, kindly smile and walk away when you’re asked, “How will this make money?”