Twitter Grows Fastest, MySpace Still The Social King

admin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:39:20 +0000

Top social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn may be well-established, but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped growing.

Nearly half of the biggest social networking sites are also among the fastest growing, according to data released Wednesday by Nielsen Online.

These top sites have also expanded beyond the youthful audience the social networking space initially captured — to find a place in older visitors’ professional lives. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Reunion.com are most popular among visitors ages 25-34, 35-49, and 55-64, respectively, Nielsen reported.

Rank (by Sept. YOY UA growth)	10 Fastest Growing Social Networking Sites: Sept. 2008	Sept. 2007: Unique Audience (in 000s)	Sept. 2008: Unique Audience (in 000s)	% Growth: Year Over Year
1	Twitter.com	533*	2,359	343%
2	Tagged.com	898	3,857	330%
3	Ning	842*	2,955	251%
4	LinkedIn	4,075	11,924	193%
5	Last.fm	850	1,879	121%
6	Facebook	18,090	39,003	116%
7	MyYearbook	1,422	3,056	115%
8	Bebo	1,299	2,418	86%
9	Multiply	592	941	59%
10	Reunion.com	4,845	7,601	57%
Source: The Nielsen Company, Custom Analysis (September 2008).
*Note: These websites do not meet minimum sample size standards. Projected and average measures for these sites may exhibit large changes month-to-month, as a result.

Rank (by UA)	Top Social Networking Sites: Sept. 2008	Sept. 2007: Unique Audience (in 000s)	Sept. 2008: Unique Audience (in 000s)	% Growth: Year Over Year
1	Myspace.com	58,581	59,352	1%
2	Facebook	18,090	39,003	116%
3	Classmates Online	13,313	17,075	28%
4	LinkedIn	4,075	11,924	193%
5	Windows Live Spaces	10,275	9,117	-11%
6	Reunion.com	4,845	7,601	57%
7	Club Penguin	3,769	4,224	12%
8	AOL Hometown	7,685	3,909	-49%
9	Tagged.com	898	3,857	330%
10	AOL Community	4,017	3,079	-23%
Source: The Nielsen Company, Custom Analysis (September 2008).

View the full press release.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Media Post, Wired, and PC Magazine.

Nielsen Survey Pinpoints Young Brits’ Web Habits

admin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:44:13 +0000

British 18- to 20-year-olds most commonly visit student finance websites, while teens in the UK favor mobile social networking and online gaming sites, and children prefer fashion and entertainment sites, the Times of London and Brand Republic reported last week.

Those results come from a recent Nielsen study that surveyed 40,000 British Internet users and identified websites with the highest concentrations of users in particular age groups.

Nearly half of all unique visitors (40%) to the websites for Student Loans Company, UCAS, and Student Finance Direct were between the ages of 18 and 22, Nielsen reported. Video-related content sites like Sidereel, TV-Links, and Alluc.org were also popular with that age category.

Frengo (26% of unique audience), RuneScape (25%), and Bebo (19%) drew the largest share of the users in the 12- to 17-year-old category, while Stardoll (32%) and Club Penguin (29%) were most popular among children under 12, according to Nielsen.

Nielsen Wire » Bebo

Twitter Grows Fastest, MySpace Still The Social King

Nielsen Survey Pinpoints Young Brits’ Web Habits