Social Platforms for Publishers: Monetizing the Social Graph

Author: Ken Doctor, Affiliate Analyst

Social networking is one of the top “must-master” initiatives for publishers. It’s not a fad, but a new way that most readers will incorporate in their news and information habits. The companies featured in this report have seen this publishing opportunity and moved on it. While there are literally dozens of social network platform providers out there, this report focuses on the six that we believe are the most important providers of social networking platforms to publishers: Jive Software, KickApps, Mzinga, Ning, Pluck, and ThePort. This report contains:

- Company highlights, including estimated revenue, web measures, business models, and key products for each of the six companies profiled;
- Analysis of how these companies’ business models and business targeting continue to differ while their product sets are similar;
- An overview of the competitive landscape;
- Threats and opportunities facing these companies;
- Essential actions for publishers seeking to choose a social networking partner.