—Online Surveys Get Social Net Reform: Online surveys are often looked at askance because many tend to entice respondents with promises of cash or other lures. Aside from rendering responses somewhat dubious, those payments can be costly. Peanut Labs, a former social net that’s transformed itself into an online market research network, is trying a twist: offering participants “virtual money” to be used in their respective online communities. The San Francisco company, formerly known as Xuqa, claims response rates of 29 percent thanks to virtual currency. Even more surprising, Peanut Labs, which has a research network covering 60 community sites comprised of 10 million users, says 80 percent of respondents have chosen virtual currency over cash or $5 iTunes gift cards. Not clear: whether the virtual incentives lend responses any more reliability.

—Auto Ad Spend Migrates Online From TV:  The internet’s share of the $40 billion automakers spend on global ads will rise from 5 percent in 2007 to 13 percent in 2011, according market researcher The Kelsey Group.  As a corollary, print classifieds’ share is expected to drop from 14 percent to 10 percent and newspapers’ share overall is expected to decline from 17 percent to 14 percent, during that same time frame. As for who will benefit from auto dollars’ accelerated move from traditional media—general third-party sites, parts’ suppliers or dealers—Kelsey says it will depend on which one can create a brand that best stands out within local markets.

—Alloy Forms Youth-focused Ad Network: Alloy Media has set up Teen.com, an online ad and content platform aimed at youth-targeted web publishers. The network offers display and integrated advertising programs. At the launch of the ad network, Alloy has signed on social nets Habbo, RockYou, Meez, and now IAC’s (NSDQ: IACI) Zwinky.com.