Why clutter can be so profitable

Nov 27 2008 by Lewis Harrison, The Journal

RID your computer room of mirrors. There’s a distinct possibility that the future of the web will be uglier than a Tyne-Tees derby match.

I know what you’re thinking. Surely websites will only get better looking as technology improves, and as web designers get ever more adept with Dreamweaver, Fireworks or Photoshop. But – for the next year at least – usability and good looks are going to find themselves behind something else in the pecking order.

Right now, a lot of websites and so-called web 2.0 companies simply aren’t turning a profit, and that’s becoming more and more of a worry as we head towards the recession / economic meltdown / end-of-the- world-and-everything-you’ve-ever- held-dear. Many of them have a great idea, a lovely looking, easy-to-use service, and thousands of users. But they’re not making as much money as they’d like. Even companies who are rarely out of the news – such as Skype, the internet telephony service, or Facebook – are struggling to work out how to make serious cash from their offerings.

Here’s the problem. Practically every single Web 2.0 business model relies on advertising revenue. And whilst online ad spend is now higher than that of TV or print, there is only so much of it to go around – and some reports are saying it too is starting to flatten out.

I should say that not every Web 2.0 business is struggling. In a deviation from the norm, it’s the aesthetically- challenged ones that are doing well. Take MySpace, for example. Since Facebook exploded in popularity, it has become the forgotten child of social networking. But whereas Facebook hasn’t yet worked out how to make money from the business itself, MySpace has been profitable from the outset, and raked in revenues of $850m last year.

So what’s their big secret? Facebook looks nice. It’s clean, uncluttered and neat. MySpace, by comparison, is a stomach turning son-of-a-gun, with garish colours, messy pages and… wait for it… ad after ad. Whereas Facebook has kept advertising to a minimum, as well as small and restrained, MySpace simply slaps them right there in the middle of the page. As a result, advertisers are super keen to advertise on MySpace, less so on FB.

If other companies want to start making some money from Web 2.0, they need to take a leaf out of MySpace’s book and go ugly. If they don’t make themselves more attractive to advertisers by giving them more space and more prominence, someone else will.

Lewis Harrison is PR & communications manager at Codeworks, a centre for digital innovation in North East England.