2011 Press
Mediabistro's SocialTimes Pro Publishes New Research Reports on the Emerging Facebook Economy and the New Relevance of Virtual Worlds
New York, NY - July 6, 2011 - Mediabistro.com (a division of WebMediaBrands Inc., Nasdaq: WEBM) today announced its two latest Facebook research reports entitled 'The Facebook Economy: Tracking Startups and Investments from '08-'11" and "How Facebook is Giving Virtual Worlds a Second Life: Trends, Strategies and Opportunities."
One SocialTimes Pro report looks at how Facebook supports a multi-billion dollar ecosystem of companies -- from brand and agency partners like Buddy Media and appssavvy, to mobile and social game developers' to startup incubators like Seedcamp -- that otherwise wouldn't exist. Call it the "Facebook Economy." So how did this economy develop, and what kinds of companies are being pushed out of the market because of it? Are there really that many well-funded social game companies? And how, specifically, is Facebook influencing the way that investors evaluate other verticals like e-commerce, advertising technology and content management? SocialTimes Pro set out to answer these questions.
SocialTimes Pro also released a report on the new relevance of virtual worlds. Given the triumph of Facebook and its paradigm of an online, asynchronous network of real friends, many industry analysts have assumed that virtual worlds are no longer relevant. However, SocialTimes Pro finds this isn't the case. It conservatively estimates there are at least 27 million monthly active Facebook users who are associated with at least one virtual world. Many leading virtual worlds from the '06-08 era have to a large degree evolved to use Facebook as an acquisition, promotion, and revenue generating channel, sometimes even integrating their assets to run within Facebook itself. SocialTimes Pro provides case studies and analysis to show how some leading virtual worlds have adapted to and embraced the Facebook world.
SocialTimes Pro offers two monthly reports on topics related to Facebook, Virtual Goods, and Social Gaming. SocialTimes Pro is associated with Mediabistro's AllFacebook.com and SocialTimes.com. For more information, visit www.socialtimespro.com.
About WebMediaBrands Inc.
WebMediaBrands Inc. (Nasdaq: WEBM) (http://www.webmediabrands.com), headquartered in New York, NY, is a leading Internet media company that provides content, education, and career services to media and creative professionals through a portfolio of vertical online properties, communities, and trade shows. The Company's online business includes: (i) mediabistro.com, a leading blog network providing content, education, community, and career resources (including the industry's leading online job board) about major media industry verticals including new media, social media, Facebook, TV news, sports news, advertising, public relations, publishing, design, mobile, and the Semantic Web; (ii) InsideNetwork.com, a leading network of online properties dedicated to providing original market research, data services, news, events, and job listings on the Facebook platform, social gaming, and mobile applications ecosystems; and (iii) AllCreativeWorld.com, a leading network of online properties providing content, education, community, career, and other resources for creative and design professionals. The Company's online business also includes community, membership and e-commerce offerings including a freelance listing service, a marketplace for designing and purchasing logos and premium membership services. The Company's trade show and educational offerings include conferences, online and in-person courses, and video subscription libraries on topics covered by the Company's online business.
All WebMediaBrands press releases are here:
www.webmediabrands.com/corporate/press.html
For SocialTimes Pro information contact:
Greg Horowitz
Director of Membership
212-547-7895
[email protected]
For information about WebMediaBrands contact:
Amanda Barrett
Director of Marketing
212-547-7879
[email protected]
