Media buyers and their major clients avoid social networking sites because - though user-generated sites might be appealing - there is too great a risk involved when it comes to a possible unwelcome connection between racy or offensive content and the ads running adjacent to it, according to MediaPost (via MediaBuyerPlanner). A panel of executives called "Revolution in Television" hosted by the Advertsing Research Foundation in New York on Monday also pointed out the potential for criminal use on MySpace or other social networking sites as a reason for avoiding them.

Though MySpace has grown to 60 million members and accounts for about 12.5 percent of all online display ads, not a single panelist advertises on the site. In January, a 14-year-old girl was murdered, allegedly by a man who met her on MySpace.

Panelists included David Cohen, executive VP for Universal McCann Interactive, representing clients such as Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Lowe's Home Improvement, Wendy's International and Sony Electronics; president and CEO of Pepsi-Cola North America Dawn Hudson; Giovanni Fabris, VP and international media director of McDonald's; Randy Falco, president and COO, NBC Universal Television Group; Campbell's Soup Company VP of global advertising Paul Alexander; and Subway Franchise Association SVP and CMO Tony Pace.

Niche social networking sites not geared toward a particularly youthful audience, as well as invitation-only sites, may be less risky for advertisers. Google and Nike, for example, have paired to form Joga.com, an invitation-only social networking site for soccer fans. Apparel and footwear giant Nike will be providing profiles of Nike-sponsored players as well as other content for that site, ClickZ reports.