Why is it so hard for social media/networking sites to monetize their users?
njharman: It's not.  It's hard to to monetize with advertising which is all most sites even try. Virtual goods, premium accounts, merchandising those are methods that work.Also thinking it in terms of monetizing users instead of monetizing your site/products is symptom of failed thinking.  Users aren't cogs in your money making machine, they resent being used/abused for your profit.  Do something your users want, offer something they will pay for.