The growth of user generated content creators and consumers isn’t being matched by growth in ad revenue. An eMarketer report from last week projected the number of ugc creators will grow from 83 million in 2008 to 108 million in 2012, while the number of ugc consumers will rise from 101 million in 2008 to 130 million in 2012.
Meanwhile, ugc ad revenue will jump from $162 million in 2007 to $824 million in 2012. While the percentage of growth is high, the dollar amount isn’t and eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna said, “Advertising revenues alongside this content will remain relatively modest. It will account for only 1.62 percent of U.S. online ad spending in 2012.
“The unpredictability of ugc is the main barrier to the emergence of a larger advertising market around this medium,” Verna said. “Another obstacle is the migration of ad dollars toward professional content on YouTube, MySpace, Joost and Hulu.”
eMarketer calculated its estimates of ugc ad spending as percentages of ad spending on online video and social networking sites. “The bulk of advertising activity around ugc occurs on video sharing sites like YouTube and social destinations like MySpace and Facebook. Related content categories like blogs and photo-sharing were not included because they account for a tiny fraction of overall ad spending against user-generated media,” it said.
Gene Hackman and His Wife Are Found Dead In Their Santa Fe Home; Oscar-Winning Actor Was 95
Gene Hackman, the prolific Oscar-winning actor whose studied portraits ranged from reluctant heroes to conniving villains made him one of the industry's most respected and honored performers, has been found dead along with his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, at their home in Santa Fe, N.M.
Foul play was not suspected, but authorities did not release circumstances of their deaths and said an investigation was ongoing.
Hackman, 95, Arakawa, 63, and their dog were all dead when deputies entered their home to check on their welfare around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday (2/26), Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila said.
Hackman was a frequent and versatile presence on screen from the 1960s until his retirement. His dozens of films included the Academy Award favorites "The French Connection" and "Unforgiven," a breakout performance in "Bonnie and Clyde," a classic bit of farce in "Young Frankenstein," a turn as the comic book villain Lex Luthor in "Superman" and the title character in Wes Anderson's 2001 "The Royal Tenenbaums."
He seemed capable of any kind of role — whether an uptight buffoon in "Birdcage," a college coach finding redemption in the sentimental favorite "Hoosiers" or a secretive surveillance expert in Francis Ford Coppola's Watergate-era release "The Conversation."
"Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity," Coppola said on Instagram. "I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution."
Although self-effacing and unfashionable, Hackman held special status within Hollywood — heir to Spencer Tracy as an everyman, actor's actor, curmudgeon and reluctant celebrity. He embodied the ethos of doing his job, doing it very well, and letting... Read More