Some of the biggest players in the online social networking field are unveiling this week ways of piping in advertising to the most personal of media formats.

MySpace, the world’s largest social network, released on Monday details of how it is building discrete audiences out of nearly 110 million users worldwide in a format it calls HyperTargeting. Smaller but rapidly-growing rival Facebook is expected to disclose on Tuesday its strategy for serving advertising in and around the personal pages built by more than 48 million users.

And BuzzLogic, a privately held marketing technology firm, is opening up its system for linking advertising to blog discussions and chat forums to public testing.

(Reuters)
(WSJ)

Keep an eye on:

• Time Warner will report its quarterly earnings on Wednesday, and analysts expect the company to make an announcement about succession by then. (Marketwatch)
• Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his firm’s acquisition of a 1.6 percent stake in socializing Web site Facebook for $240 million was an important investment, not a mistake. (Reuters)
• U.S. film and television writers went on strike after last-minute talks aimed at averting the Writers Guild of America’s first walkout in almost two decades collapsed. The strike is expected to shut down many sitcoms and send popular late-night talk shows, such as NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman,” immediately into reruns. (Reuters)
• Yahoo is launching KickStart, a social-networking service designed to help college students get career help, an offering created by a young Yahoo unit charged with advancing product innovation. (WSJ)