Social Networking sites seen hitting web ad growth

The rise of social networking websites such as FaceBook and MySpace could bring the rapid growth of UK internet advertising down a gear this year, according to media forecasters at WPP, the marketing services group. GroupM, the umbrella forecasting group for WPP’s media buying teams, cites the increasing time that audiences are spending on such websites as one reason to anticipate a slowdown in the “warp” speed expansion of web advertising. Any deceleration in internet growth would be relative, especially compared with the sluggish state of UK broadcast and press advertising.

Link: FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Networking sites seen hitting web ad growth.