Gartner: “Cold Wind” Blows for Web 2.0 Companies

Not that this is any surprise given the horrible economic climate, but Gartner VP Andrew Frank said Thursday that the time has come for social media companies to demonstrate that, you know, they actually can make money, according to MediaPost.

“A cold wind’s begun to blow on Web 2.0 startups, especially those whose business models run along the lines of building a large and loyal audience and then monetizing it with advertising,” said Frank in the article.

Unfortunately, that describes most of the startups—mobile or otherwise—that have made news in the past 18 months or so. Frank cited recent Google, YouTube, MySpace, and MTV Networks deals as examples, saying that only Facebook and Twitter have yet to announce anything substantial. Shades of the first dot-com bust? At ad:tech New York last week, Frank said in the report that the mood was strange: “The economy-induced fear could not be suppressed, and for many [it] was clearly triggering flashbacks to the beginning of the decade.”

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