Companies creating the online tools that define the Web 2.0 era find international users are hard to monetize with ad revenue, reports The Seattle Times.
The global nature of the internet is great for sharing content, but not so great for advertisers whose efforts don't extend beyond U.S. shores. Publishers who find most of their users coming from oversees are finding it hard to attract advertisers because of that user base. Non-U.S. markets are often less desirable to U.S. advertisers.

Even so, some companies are turning what could be a negative into a positive. WinkSite, which lets people create mobile-friendly versions of their sites, says while it loses money on oversees traffic it is using the experience of those users in its feedback process.