Trends in Social Networking Sites

[DDC_Cyn]

The latest trends:
Facebook is coming on strong, still aways to go to beat Myspace but man look at the percentage over last year. And LInkedIn!

Top 10 Social Networking Sites for February 2008 (U.S., Home and Work)
Site UA (000) Feb-08 UA (000) Feb-07 % Change
Myspace.com 55,419 53,362 4%
Facebook 20,043 9,923 102%
Classmates Online 12,955 12,815 1%
Windows Live Spaces 7,882 9,253 -15%
LinkedIn 7,392 1,990 271%
AOL Hometown 6,004 8,907 -33%
Club Penguin 4,727 3,233 46%
Reunion.com 4,323 4,348 -1%
AOL Community 3,337 4,641 -28%
Flixster 2,619 1,591 65%
Buzznet.com 2,526 1,332 90%
Source: Nielsen Online

[DDC_Cyn]

Top 10 Social Networking Sites for March 2008 (U.S., Home and Work)
Site Unique Audience Unique Audience %
(000) Mar-08 (000) Mar-07 Change

MySpace.com 60,398 55,937 8%
Facebook 24,940 12,622 98%
Classmates Online 13,599 12,991 5%
LinkedIn 7,877 1,878 319%
Reunion.com 5,940 5,217 14%
AOL Hometown 5,785 9,246 -37%
Club Penguin 4,623 3,482 33%
AOL Community 3,229 4,640 -30%
Buzznet.com 2,717 1,822 49%
Source: Nielsen Online

[lordbyroniv]

What is a social networking site as distinguished from a forum? I mean what functionality must be incorporated to be a social networking site?

[DDC_Cyn]

Originally Posted by lordbyroniv

What is a social networking site as distinguished from a forum? I mean what functionality must be incorporated to be a social networking site?

Good question, as many forums do act as a social outlet for the participants. But I believe the distinguishing feature is the ability to have a "profile" page or portal that other people in the community link to and visit. Your MySpace, Your Facebook page,etc. This usually allows people to post photos, videos and "friend" all components of a good social networking site.

[lordbyroniv]

Originally Posted by DDC_Cyn

Good question, as many forums do act as a social outlet for the participants. But I believe the distinguishing feature is the ability to have a "profile" page or portal that other people in the community link to and visit. Your MySpace, Your Facebook page,etc. This usually allows people to post photos, videos and "friend" all components of a good social networking site.

Yeah, thats kinda what I figured - and also I would add the ability to create user groups that are separated and distinct based on an individuals distinct network

[DMaN]

I'd take it a step further than just saying a profile. This forum would perhaps not quite be the best example, since it is somewhat of a new hybrid emerging from all of this. Take the default vBulletin profile, for instance. You have a profile there, but it's just not social networking.

I think you have to define it as an interactive profile which includes things such as pictures, blogs, more detailed information, and speficially the ability to add friends (aka. networking). I think this is a term just like web 2.0, it's difficult to define 100%, but you can get a good general idea.

[aZooZa]

Thanks Cynthia, I found your stats particularly useful as I had posed the same question before on another site about how people think this 'social networking' will evolve in the next three years.

[oberheimer]

aZooZa do you have a link to that site (post) im currently doing research for a new site so, you can pm me the link, it would be very helpfull

[aZooZa]

Sure Ober:

http://www.domaincircle.co.uk/showthread.php?t=157

No replies as yet :(

[MrPJH]

Social networking site Facebook has seen its first drop in UK users in January, new industry data indicates.

Users fell 5% to 8.5 million in January from 8.9 million in December, according to data from Nielsen Online.

This was the first drop in user numbers since July 2006 when Nielsen began compiling data on the site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7257073.stm

Yessss, that's great news to people like me who never really liked the faceless facebook hehe

[lordbyroniv]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6IQ_...ww.social.com/

[TheWatcher]

Originally Posted by lordbyroniv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6IQ_...ww.social.com/

Very funny video.

[lordbyroniv]

Glad u liked

Thats why I shared

I thought it was funny too

Not to mention, "We Didnt start the Fire" was a great song

[TheWatcher]

I even started my own social networking site last week.

[draggar]

Are those stats daily visitors, active users, weekly visitors?

LinkedIn is growing very quickly, every day I see people adding new contacts, some 5-10 a day (some may be older members but some are new members). Interesting how something as simple as this is getting to be so popular.

[oberheimer]

im starting my own soon aswell working on it right now, should be good and unique

[TheWatcher]

Originally Posted by oberheimer

im starting my own soon aswell working on it right now, should be good and unique

I highly recommend ning social network. You can network to other exiting network without creating another account. See it in action www.randompage.com website.