As a follow up to my last post, it would seem that in their never ending quest for new youthful readers more magazines and newspapers are jumping on the social networking bandwagon. These, plus Blogs, RSS feeds and anything else they can come up with to suck readers into, and generate loyalty towards their magazine and newspaper websites. Some publishers are even shelling out big bucks to buy entire social networks in the hopes of boosting readership and revenue. A good example of that is the news that Hearst Magazines has purchased social network eCRUSH.com for an undisclosed sum. (but you know it won’t be peanuts) The site allows members to send email "crushes" to non-members. The non-members must register with eCRUSH to learn who their admirers are. Along with eCRUSH Hearst gets eSPIN, an online version of the spin-the-bottle game (Hello… do your parents know about this?) and HighSchoolStyleBoard, a photo-rating site. The purchase is the result of the high demand for targeted teenage advertising inventory, according to one executive. Many of Hearst’s titles, including Seventeen, CosmoGIRL and Teen will begin including social networking capabilities like interactive content, photos, video, and podcasts this year. Even more devastating for the effect it will have on teenager’s funds, will be the launch of MyPromShopper.com, which boasts content from the magazines, and will no doubt feature ads for stretch Hummer limos, hip flasks disguised as Coke bottles and Mariachi band tuxedo rentals.
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