Major Social Networking Sites Substantially Expanded Their Global Visitor Base during Past Year
RESTON, VA, July 31, 2007 – Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study on the expansion of social networking across the globe, revealing that several major social networking sites have experienced dramatic growth during the past year.
Social networking behemoth MySpace.com attracted more than 114 million global visitors age 15 and older in June 2007, representing a 72-percent increase versus year ago. Facebook.com experienced even stronger growth during that same time frame, jumping 270 percent to 52.2 million visitors. Bebo.com (up 172 percent to 18.2 million visitors) and Tagged.com (up 774 percent to 13.2 million visitors) also increased by orders of magnitude.
Worldwide Growth of Selected* Social Networking SitesJune 2007 vs. June 2006Total Worldwide Home/Work Locations Among Internet Users Age 15+Source: Comscore World Metrix
Social Networking Site
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Jun-06
Jun-07
% Change
MySpace
66,401
114,147
72
Facebook
14,083
52,167
270
Hi5
18,098
28,174
56
Friendster
14,917
24,675
65
Orkut
13,588
24,120
78
Bebo
6,694
18,200
172
Tagged
1,506
13,167
774
*Sites selected from among those with at least 10 million visitors worldwide, 50 percent growth during the past year, and of particular significance to the North American region; future studies will focus on sites that are popular in other worldwide regions; the sites included do not constitute a ranking of the top social networking sites.
“During the past year, social networking has really taken off globally,” said Bob Ivins, executive vice president of international markets. “Literally hundreds of millions of people around the world are visiting social networking sites each month and many are doing so on a daily basis. It would appear that social networking is not a fad but rather an activity that is being woven into the very fabric of the global Internet.”
Worldwide Daily Visitation of Selected Social Networking SitesJune 2007 vs. June 2006Total Worldwide Home/Work Locations Among Internet Users Age 15+Source: Comscore World Metrix
Average Daily Visitors (000)
16,764
28,786
3,742
299
2,873
4,727
3,037
5,966
96
5,488
9,628
75
1,188
4,833
307
202
983
386
MySpace, Facebook Strong in North America; Bebo Grabs Hold in Europe
While attracting global users, specific social networks have a tendency to skew in popularity in different regions. For example, both MySpace.com (62 percent) and Facebook.com (68 percent) attract approximately two-thirds of their respective audiences from North America. That said, each has already amassed a large international visitor base and both appear poised to continue their global expansion. Bebo.com has a particularly strong grasp on Europe, attracting nearly 63 percent of its visitors from that region, while Orkut is firmly entrenched in Latin America (49 percent) and Asia-Pacific (43 percent). Friendster also attracts a significant proportion of its visitors (89 percent) from the Asia-Pacific region. Both Hi5.com and Tagged.com exhibit more balance in their respective visitor bases, drawing at least 8 percent from each of the five worldwide regions.
Visitation to Selected Social Networking Sites by Worldwide RegionJune 2007Total Worldwide Home/Work Locations Among Internet Users Age 15+Source: Comscore World Metrix
Share (%) of Unique Visitors
Worldwide
North America
Latin America
Europe
Middle East-Africa
Asia Pacific
100.0%
62.1%
3.8%
24.7%
1.3%
8.1%
68.4%
2.0%
16.8%
5.7%
7.1%
15.3%
24.1%
31.0%
8.7%
20.8%
7.7%
0.4%
2.5%
0.8%
88.7%
2.9%
48.9%
4.6%
0.6%
43.0%
21.8%
0.5%
62.5%
13.9%
22.7%
14.6%
23.4%
10.0%
29.2%
“A fundamental aspect of the success of social networking sites is cultural relevance,” continued Mr. Ivins. “Those doing well in certain regions are likely doing an effective job of communicating appropriately with those regions’ specific populations. As social networking continues to evolve, it will be exciting to see if networks are able to cross cultural barriers and bring people from different corners of the globe together in fulfilling the truest ideals of social networking.”
About ComscoreComscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. Comscore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by more than 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.
PressBill DaddiDaddi Brand Communications646-370-1341press@comscore.com