MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe told a Reuters conference that following the worldwide financial crises, MySpace hasn't "really seen any impact, other than we think we could have grown even more than we have."
Translation: We've seen impact, but we're still growing--for now. Chris then goes on to set expectations very low:
"Our revenue and profits are significant and they continue to grow in spite of the poor economy. We're up 18 percent year-over-year as of last quarter and we're cautiously optimistic that we can continue to grow our business."
"Cautiously optimistic that we can continue to grow." That's a distinct change from prior expectations. And Chris's caution makes sense, based on what we're hearing elsewhere in the industry:
- We hear that when advertisers cut their budgets under new constraints, the first thing to go is experimental social media.
- Network of networks the Rubicon Project says social media ad spending dropped 3% for ad networks, 8% for young adults sites and almost 20% on entertainments 3. MySpace is all those kinds of sites in one.
- MySpace also depends on display advertising, which we're pretty sure will decline in 2009.