Social Networking a Boon to Online Video

A new study from Parks Associates finds social networking sites are a strong distribution channel for online video.

A new study from Parks Associates finds that folks who are active on social networking sites like MySpace also like to dip into online video, with some 55 percent streaming video and 21 percent downloading long-form videos at least once a month. According to the findings, folks who visit a social networking site a least once a week are about six times more likely to download long-form videos, and one and a half times more likely to view streaming Internet video than folks who don’t visit social networking sites.

"Whether the business model is free video streaming backed by advertisements or the sale of online movies and TV shows, social network Web sites are well positioned to become strong contenders in the Internet video business," said Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, director of broadband and gaming at Parks Associates, in a release. "On the other hand, online video Web sites, if they are to be competitive, need to beef up their social networking features to attract and retain users."

Although Parks Associates’ study collected responses from 1,728 respondents, it’s somewhat interesting to note that only 357 of them (21 percent) visited social networking sites at least once a week. According to Parks Associates, two-thirds of frequent social networking users are less than 24 years old.

"Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are effective in reaching a young and dynamic Internet audience, but the question is what’s next?" Cai said. "Besides monetizing their social networking assets, large media companies need to attract older demographics to social networking or leverage other virtual hangouts that appeal to older Internet users, such as peer-to-peer communities, which have a slightly older audience, or special-interest websites like iVillage."