Embracing social media, photo sites stay in the game

There's no denying the broader appeal of the social networks as consumers start to treat the web as an integral part of their lives and that photo sharing - a rudimentary part of bigger picture -- will eventually be a part of all that.

"Social networking sites have a much broader appeal because there's a kind of a lifestyle sharing functionality, it's almost like micro-blogging in a way," IDC's Christopher Chute said.

(The PluggedIn column appears weekly. Comments or questions on this one can be e-mailed to john.tilak(at)thomsonreuters.com)