Facebook, YouTube are fastest growing social networks

It is not news that MySpace is the king of the social networks. But it may surprise some just how fast other social networks are catching up to the king. MySpace took over social networking when it opened but according to new research from Nielsen//Netratings, traffic to MySpace only increased 30% between June 2006 and 2007.

by Kristina Knight

In June 2006, MySpace saw more than 45.7 million users log on. In June 2007 that number rose to just over 59.7 million. Year over year (YoY) Blogger also showed a 30% increase, going from 20.4 million users in June 2006 to 26.5 million in June 2007.

What is most interesting is that social networking sites that offered more than simple networking or blogging showed more growth than "typical" social networking sites.

Video sharing site YouTube grew by more than 162% YoY.

Facebook also showed incredible growth, compared to other social networking sites with 110% growth YoY. But all is not rosy at Facebook. Advertisers are reportedly disappointed that click through rates for ads on the site are very low.

This could be because of the difference between Facebook, which is seen as more of a communication social space, and rival MySpace, which is used to share content. Users on MySpace share pictures and blog. Users on YouTube share videos. By offering more than simple communication tools, these social spaces are appealing to a wider audience.