Will Big Business Kill myspace.com?

The trouble with our business is that it often is too eager to start advertising before the environment is set up sufficiently to do so. We often fail to think about ruining the spaces we wish to share with the people we want to interact with our brands.  With the same shoot then aim spirit of pop-up ads and annoying email spam, advertisers are looking to the new revolution in social networks as a way to reach the elusive youth market. 

The real opportunity for advertisers is not in slamming ads at these subscribers - it is in learning the ways they are connected and what ways that can be made better.  Make the network work better.  Offer lubricant - not pointless pother. Know what stuff they want. Know how access to exclusive content can drive interaction with your brand.  Know how brand perception is shaped by the clusters within these networks.  Advertisers need to start studying up on the basics of social network theory if they are going to figure out how to get noticed - and even more important not actively scorned by these consumers.

Advertising Age discusses this topic and offers some interesting points.
Read the article on Adage.com