It's no secret that the major traditional print media publishers like Hearst and Conde Nast have been beefing up their Web proprieties in the past year in order to adjust to a world where more advertising dollars are being directed to the Internet. We've posted extensively about Time, Inc's interactive efforts in particular over the past year. They have tried created web exclusive properties (remember OfficePirates.com?), they've made digital investments and acquisitions (with Takkle and FanNation). Now, word is out that Time, Inc is poised to expand its social networking capabilities for its host of companion magazine web sites, most likely starting with its two premiere properties: Sports Illustrated and People. Needless to say, we think it will be an uphill battle to say the least. Although online magazine readership has grown significantly over the past year and half, it still remains relatively small in the whole scheme of things. Only 17% of teens and college students (20% of males and 13% of females) report visiting a magazine's web site at least once in the past month compared to 88% who visited a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace. The question is will adding social networking applications be the essential ingredient in the secret sauce to cause the much needed traffic spikes Time, Inc (and other publishers for that matter) is seeking? The initial reaction is no, but we'll go on the record and say we'll take a wait and see approach for now.
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