MySpace leads, Facebook follows

Over three-quarters of social-networking traffic in the U.S. went to MySpace during 2007, according to new data released by online intelligence service, Hitwise.

by Helen Leggatt

hitwise%20logo2.gif Over three-quarters of social-networking traffic in the U.S. went to MySpace during 2007, according to new data released by online intelligence service, Hitwise.

Out of a category of 53 leading social-networking sites, MySpace attracted, on average, the most traffic by a huge margin, according to recently release data from Hitwise.

With 76.35 percent of all traffic it left Facebook miles behind with 12.57 percent. Despite all the attention given to Facebook during 2007, they appear to have made very little inroads in to MySpace’s market share in the U.S.

Bebo, BlackPlanet and Club Penguin make up the top five with 1.24 percent, 1 percent and 0.67 percent respectively.

The YoY figures are more telling. Facebook grew by a whopping 51 percent while MySpace slipped back 8 percent. The YoY star performer was MyYearBook.com with over 400 percent growth.

In terms of user engagement, Facebook again comes out on top. Members spent an average of 20 minutes on the site in December 2007, up 100 percent from the previous year. Even Bebo members spent marginally longer on their site than MySpace members with 30 minutes 30 seconds versus 30 minutes.

“MySpace and Facebook remain the market leaders among social networking websites, retaining a loyal base of users,” said Heather Dougherty, director of research, Hitwise. “The continued popularity of social networking activities online will drive the interest of marketers seeking to target influential users to approve and advocate their products and services.”