Marketers Pounce on Social Networking, But Users Shy Away

Social networking sites keep reaching new milestones. In fact, according to a new survey by industry research firm IDC, 54 percent of the United States online audience now acknowledges having used some form of social networking sites (or, in IDC's shorthand, "SNS") -- up from 43 percent not even a year ago. But if you think that level of penetration represents a tremendous marketing opportunity -- well, you'd be wrong. Most users of social networking, according to IDC's survey, hardly pay attention to ads on social networking sites -- a sentiment confirmed by dismal clickthrough rates. More here.