News Corp. has grand plans for MySpace

Reuters - While News Corp.'s recently acquired online community destination MySpace.com is thriving in its current form, the media giant already is devising plans to make the site even stickier and more profitable, possibly by acquiring so-called "Web 2.0" properties, enabling transactions between members and adding subscription offers.

Niche Social Sites

News Corp. (hearts) MySpace

The media giant recently bought MySpace, the popular networking site for youth -- and it looks like a grand-slam.

Internet boosts growth in ad spending

FT.COM: Advertising expenditure on the internet will account for almost half of this year's growth in advertising spending, according to Zenith Optimedia, the media buying group.

Tim Berners–Lee on the Web

All the News That's Fit to ... Aggregate, Download, Blog: Are Newspapers Yesterday's News?

KNOWLEDGE @ WHARTON: The recent sale of Knight Ridder, the country's second-largest newspaper chain, to McClatchy follows one of the most difficult years the industry has had -- declining circulation, job losses and falling stock prices. Newspapers, it would seem, have two big strikes against them: They are in a mature industry and they are a textbook example (stockbrokers are another) of an intermediary between sources of information and customers -- a role that is being increasingly challenged by the Internet. To remain competitive in the coming years, say Wharton faculty and others, daily newspapers will have to strengthen their efforts to attract younger readers, make more imaginative use of the Internet, and develop stories, mostly local in nature, that better meet the needs of time-pressed subscribers.

Who's Building the Next Web?

MSNBC.COM: Got a lot of free time? You're going to need it to enjoy the fruits of Silicon Valley's latest labors: start-ups that want you to spend even more of your life online.

The New Wisdom of the Web

MSNBC: Why is everyone so happy in Silicon Valley again? A new wave of start-ups are cashing in on the next stage of the Internet. And this time, it's all about ... you.