Social networking is hot and apparently, Hitwise confirms that MySpace is burning up the competition. For every 20 times a person in the US visited a website in September, one of those times the visit was to a ‘social networking’ site.
Social networking sites are online destinations where profiles can be built and users can connect with friends or colleagues, sharing photos, videos, blogs and editing their custom web pages.
Of those social networks, MySpace.com is the most popular, attracting 82% of the visits among the top 20 social networking sites.
MySpace (www.myspace.com) was the undisputed leader in social networking, receiving 82 percent of visits among the top 20 leading social networking websites in September 2006. Visits to MySpace increased by 51 percent from March to September 2006, outpacing category growth in visits of 34 percent. Other social networking websites which received larger than average growth in market share of visits between March and September 2006 were: Bolt (www.bolt.com), up 271 percent; Bebo (www.bebo.com), up 95 percent; Orkut (www.orkut.com), up 63 percent; and Gaia Online (www.gaia.com), up 41 percent.
The influence of MySpace crosses over into other industries as users integrate social networking visits with other web activity. In September 2006, 2.4 percent of visits to Shopping & Classifieds websites came directly from MySpace, an increase of 83 percent since March 2006. Other industries receiving increased traffic from MySpace in that period were Telecommunications, Banks and Financial Institutions, and Travel.
MySpace is quite an influential part of the Internet and may, one day, challenge Yahoo or Microsoft online communities – especially with current International expansion efforts.
Hitwise published a report on their findings along with the popularity of community founded photosharing sites like Flickr and video sharing sites like YouTube.
Any thoughts on new up and comers? I just saw vois.com (a social network for adults) and heard theres some big people behind it.
Vois.com is interesting. Very nice layout. better than most that I belong too.
Any thoughts on this
• Publicly Traded MedStrong International Corporation Announces Plans to Launch an Online Social Networking Community
AOL Canada Founder and Former Chief Executive Officer Appointed President and CEO of MedStrong International
Thursday January 18, 9:45 am ET
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — MedStrong International Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: MDSI; MDSIW) announced today that Stephen J. Bartkiw has been appointed by the Board of Directors to serve as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Internet company, effective immediately. Bartkiw brings over 20 years experience in technology, Internet and interactive services to MedStrong as the founder and former CEO of AOL Canada Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of America Online.
Positioning Bartkiw at the company’s helm falls on the heels of MedStrong’s recent announcement of plans to adopt a Web 2.0 business platform and launch a social networking site.
“Having Stephen Bartkiw onboard as President and CEO perfectly aligns with the company’s new direction,” said Gary Schultheis, the company’s former President who concurrently becomes the new chairman of MedStrong International. “[Stephen's] reputation and depth of industry expertise is an invaluable resource for MedStrong.”
Bartkiw’s depth of experience includes positions at two of the largest media and communications companies in Canada before joining AOL in 1995 to launch a uniquely Canadian online service as founder of AOL Canada, where he also served as CEO until 2001. He has continued his involvement in the rapidly changing industry as a director of both public and private technology companies.
“As interactive services and technologies continue to mature and evolve, they become more and more ingrained into the fabric of our every day lives,” said Bartkiw from MedStrong headquarters in Delray Beach, Florida. “With the company’s new focus, we intend to build communities of interest by leveraging member generated content as the catalyst for communication with like-minded individuals.”
About MedStrong International Corporation
MedStrong International Corporation is a publicly traded development stage company in the state of Delaware and operates under the stock ticker symbols MDSI / MDSIW. MedStrong is headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, recently named a 2006 Top Ten Digital City by the Center for Digital Government, which recognizes the most technology-advanced cities in America.