Startup Talk: Social networking sites industry in 2016 to see $18 billion in revenue, up 45%

Editor’s note: Each Thursday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Startup Talk,” a round-up of startup, technology and entrepreneurial news.

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SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES INDUSTRY IN 2016 TO SEE $18 BILLION IN REVENUE, UP 45%
As the number of mobile internet connections and the percentage of services conducted online rise, the social networking industry is expected to grow an annualized 44.6% to $18.1 billion by the end of 2016. Revenue is forecast to increase 53% in 2016 alone due to companies’ focus on mobile applications, according to new industry research by IBISWorld.

The social networking sites industry is extremely concentrated. The top three companies include Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and account for 83.7% of revenue in 2016. Facebook alone holds 71.2% of the market and the company’s high market share pushes up the average industry profit margin. However, despite the industry’s high profit margin, many companies operate at a loss. To gain users, many websites offer their services for free.

Over the next five years, IBISWorld expects revenue growth to slow significantly due to decelerated growth in the number of mobile internet connections and the percentage of services conducted online. Despite slowed revenue growth, new operators will continue to enter the industry and push up competition. To compete, social networking sites will increasingly focus on serving niche markets and advertisers.

ACCENTURE OPENS ‘LIQUID STUDIO’ IN ITALY TO HELP STARTUPS ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT
U.S. consulting giant Accenture has opened a Liquid Studio in Milan, Italy designed to help organizations accelerate innovation by quickly transforming ideas into applications and services using the latest technologies, intelligent automation, contemporary architectures, and leading software development methods.

The Liquid Studio draws on the Accenture’s alliance ecosystem, which uses open innovation to take cutting-edge technologies and digital expertise from the startup community and into development for clients. The new location in Italy will collaborate with the Accenture Liquid Studios in Silicon Valley, Paris and Nantes, France, and Kronberg, Germany, and with Accenture Labs, which incubates and prototypes new concepts through applied R&D projects. Accenture plans to open more Liquid Studios around the world in 2017.

FCC ISSUES UPDATED ADVISORY ON ‘ROBOTEXTS,’ SAYS UNWANTED MESSAGING IS SUBJECT TO CONSUMER PROTECT LAWS
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has issued an advisory to clarify the limits on the increasing use of autodialed text messages, known as “robotexts.” The FCC said is committed to protecting consumers from harassing, intrusive, illegal, and unwanted robotexts to cell phones and other mobile devices.

In the advisory, the FCC said text messages sent to cell phones using any automatic telephone dialing system are subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). The TCPA places limits on autodialed calls and pre-recorded or artificial-voice calls to wireless numbers; emergency numbers; guest or patient rooms at hospitals, health care facilities, elderly homes, or similar establishments; and to any service for which the called party is charged for the call.

The FCC’s corresponding rules restrict the use of pre-recorded voice calls and automatic telephone dialing systems, including those that deliver robotexts.