Don't Build It, They Won't Come: Walmart

Walmart just launched a quasi-social-networking site for teens designed to allow them to "express their individuality." http://schoolyourway.walmart.com/

AdAge article here: http://adage.com/digital/article.php?article_id=110520

Another feeble attempt by a big corporate marketer to catch up with the social networking phenom and MySpace.

Teens now are spending countless hours on MySpace, socializing and sharing stories about their lives. MySpace, in return, has become a powerhouse brand. And powerhouse brands receive and deserve tremendous customer loyalty.

What Walmart should have done, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, is understand how teens are interacting with each other through these types of sites, and then embrace them (in an already crowded space) on their own terms.