- Mae Anderson

NEW YORK While attention has focused on how social networks will sell ads, their most valuable data might be not in running ads, but as a source of ad-targeting data.

Former Neo@Ogilvy North American CEO Eric Wheeler is banking on social-network data to be a fertile source for improving the relevance of ads. His new company, 33Across, next month begins testing the idea of contracting with social sites—from instant-messaging providers and social networks to application developers—to build anonymous profiles of users based on their network of connections and propensity to communicate. The goal: To find influencers and those likely to spread the word about a new movie or product, then show them the related ads on social networks and elsewhere.

"There's massive amounts of connection data in social media," Wheeler said.

This would provide a social network with a key way to tap into ad revenue without ads. It could contribute to the 33Across data pool for ads shown elsewhere, in much the same way a car-comparison site would work with a behavioral ad network to identify car shoppers to receive pitches elsewhere.

Wheeler isn't alone in pursuing a model that uses social data as fuel for a targeted ad network. Facebook's Beacon program is based on a trove of connectivity information the site processes. Startups Lotame and SocialMedia are also looking to tap social connections for networks.

"Within social networking inventory, the social component is really important," said SocialMedia founder Seth Goldstein. "If you're not factoring that into your advertising, you're taking an old model and attaching it to a new medium." Wheeler hopes to win over consumers with tools for them to analyze their own social graphs, figuring out who they are most connected to and where they hold influence.

33Across has attracted big-name backers for its initial $1 million funding round, including CNET co-founder Shelby Bonnie and behavioral network Tacoda founder Dave Morgan.