MySpace tries to thwart Facebook with "hyper targeting"

Nearly two weeks after the announcement of creating a channel of social games, dubbed “MySpace Games,” MySpace.com, the world’s leading social networking site, is now planning to expand its advertising platform, a move that would allow advertisers to deliver precision-targeted banner ads based on user-created data.

The popular online teen hangout MySpace is set to make a formal announcement Monday about its new advertising sales system, dubbed "hyper targeting", which uses the personal information posted by its 110 million registered users themselves to tailor personalized online adverts.

According to MySpace executives, this unique system would enable small businesses and individuals to use templates to put together banner ads and pinpoint exactly what type of audiences they want to reach.

"We are able to take standard media and make it smarter media," said Adam Bain, a chief technology officer at MySpace parent Fox Interactive Media, a division of Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp.

The scheme initially is allowing advertisers to drill down into 10 different user segments, such as film, music, finance and travel, and is creating 100 sub-categories within those groups, Bain added.

"We're looking at everything people put into their profiles and what their friends are into," said Arnie Gullov-Singh, a Fox Interactive vice president.

News Corp.-owned MySpace’s announcement comes a day ahead of its chief rival, Facebook Inc.’s planned introduction of a new advertising system. The online social networking directory, Facebook is due to announce big changes to its own advertising platform on Tuesday.

Founded by Zuckerberg and his Harvard buddy, Dustin Moskovitz in February 2004, the Palo Alto, California based, Facebook is the Internet’s second-largest social network, with 51 million active users.

Facebook was originally popular on college campuses, but last September the site opened up registration to non-college students. Since then it evolved into a major social networking destination to rival MySpace.com. According to Facebook estimates, it receives an average of 54 billion page views per month, and the average visitor stick to the site for 20 minutes, making it the a prime target for advertisers.

More than 50 advertisers have signed up to MySpace's new advertising technology system. The companies that agreed to use the system include Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Ford, Sony Electronics, Toyota, etc.

Started in 2004, MySpace is the Web’s largest social network, which was acquired last year by Rupert Murdoch's Fox Interactive Media Inc. It has become quite popular among U.S. Web users for socializing and sharing music and photographs.