This morning there is an article in the Wall Street Journal about social networking sites (Social Sites Don’t Deliver Big Ad Gains) and how the ad revenue from these sites has been disappointing. According to the WSJ, Facebook, Google and other players have been struggling to generate significant revenue from advertising.

I found the article intriguing and extremely salient. Communiqué PR has recently completed project work for Brad Hefta-Gaub, founder of Sweat365, a social networking site aimed at the everyday athlete. Brad has a unique vision for social networking. He believes it is important to provide people with relevant content so they have a compelling reason to repeatedly return to his site.As I read the WSJ article, I couldn’t help but think about the importance of knowing your target audience and what is important to them. Certainly, this is the name of the game in both advertising and public relations. I think Brad has stumbled onto something significant.Sweat365 users blog with the specific focus to help one another live healthier lives and achieve their fitness goals, whatever they may be. And they’re writing to inspire one another to get physically active. Given the specific focus of the site, I anticipate select companies will be more interested in placing targeted ads on his site. It will be interesting to watch what happens in the category as more and more social networking sites look to find a successful business model.