Social networks continue to flourish. As the networking landscape expands and diversifies, some of these firms are looking around for all possible ways to monetise their sizable audiences.

According to the research firm eMarketer, the growth in ad spending on social networks worldwide would total close to $2 billion this year, slightly down from the firm’s earlier estimate of over $2.1 billion.

Ad spending will total $3.8 billion in 2011, down from the firm’s earlier forecast of $4.1 billion. While scaling back its forecast, eMarketer also expects the US ad spending on online social networks - as a percentage of overall Web ad outlays - to peak at 6 per cent next year. Earlier, the research firm had stated the social networks’ share would continue at least through 2011.

While acknowledging the ‘power of social networking’, a senior analyst at eMarketer, Debra Aho Williamson, stated:

There are a variety of factors that right now limit the growth of the market.

One of them is the slowdown in the global economy that is causing a section of advertisers to slash their budgets for ‘experimental’ kinds of advertising, according to Williamson.