New figures from metrics firm comScore show that, in May, the battle of the social-networking sites may have gained a new front-runner: Facebook appears to have surpassed long-time rival MySpace in worldwide unique visitors for the first time.
ComScore representatives said that Facebook's lead began in April, when the site passed MySpace by a hair, and widened in May.
Facebook, according to comScore, pulled in 123.9 million unique visitors in the month of May, beating MySpace's 114.6 million, and 50.6 billion page views, compared to MySpace's 45.4 billion.
It has been a slow but steady upward climb for Facebook, founded by then-Harvard undergraduate Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. The site was initially restricted to members with email addresses from a handful of elite universities, before gradually expanding to the general public and becoming a genuine Silicon Valley sensation when it kick-started the developer platform craze last year.
It was a very different story for MySpace, which was founded in 2003 and achieved mass-market success in a relatively short time by gearing itself toward independent bands and their fans.
MySpace, owned by News Corp since 2005, nevertheless remains far ahead of Facebook in the US, where both companies are based. The same comScore figures found that MySpace has 73.7 million unique visitors in the US versus Facebook's 35.6 million, and that neither site grew much in the past month. Other number-crunching firms show similar results: a Compete.com graph of the two, for example, shows MySpace's US traffic shrinking slightly while Facebook's is growing steadily, but not astronomically.
This appears to confirm the common wisdom that Facebook's present growth is largely overseas. And that, of course, assumes that the numbers are accurate — online metrics firms, comScore included, have been subject to plenty of scrutiny on behalf of web companies and ad firms. Additionally, some of MySpace's overseas traffic does not come from the MySpace.com domain; its Chinese-language site, for example, is MySpace.cn. ComScore representatives, however, have said that its assessment of MySpace's traffic encompassed all the site's domains.In January, Facebook unveiled plans to provide translated versions of the site, something that MySpace has done since 2006 after first launching separate versions of the site for other English-speaking countries, such as the UK and Australia. There are now 29 localised versions of MySpace, and the company has office space in 20 different countries. MySpace representatives have explained in the past that their aim is to build communities centred on regional culture, not to simply expand the same networking tool worldwide.
But the Facebook strategy appears to be working, too. Figures released by comScore earlier this week concerning Facebook's growth in France suggest that the translated sites are having some positive effects in building international audiences. On Thursday, Chinese and Russian versions of the site debuted, bringing the translation offering to around 20 languages.
Overseas challenges
Still, even a fast-growing site like Facebook faces issues abroad. Advertising dollars — typically stronger in the US than overseas — still aren't rolling in on social networks in the way many expected them to, and last month Facebook took out a $100m (£51m) loan to keep pace with growth. MySpace, meanwhile, has just rolled out a site redesign that aims to make it more appealing to both users and advertisers.
In addition, there's the fact that, while MySpace might be Facebook's chief rival in the US, there are plenty of other social networks with big followings in different pockets of the globe, posing local competition. Orkut, run by Google, has a lock on Brazil and also a big portion of the market in India. Hi5 is popular in Latin America. Friendster, long past popularity in the US, has nevertheless gained a sizeable following in several Asian countries.
Facebook continues to work on image issues. The independently run company, its valuation pegged at a jaw-dropping $15bn after an investment from Microsoft, has also been boosting its executive team to lift its reputation from a Palo Alto start-up to legitimate international corporation. This spring, the company recruited Elliot Schrage, vice president of global communications and public affairs at Google, to join its roster in a similar capacity, as a policy-focused PR tsar.
Last edited by Feel_Good_inc. : 24-06-2008 at 12:19 PM.
Reason: changes to article
Don't be fooled by my smooth skin. The deepest scars are the ones unseen.
Remember compliments you received, forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how..~ Baz Lurhman.
Letting it get to you - You know what that's called? Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now that's all that counts. ~ Doctor Who "The Doctors Wife" 06.November.2011
Yep i used to be a Myspace kid before i was introduced to facebook now im totally into facebook more. I think its because you generally only are friends with people you know. Although you can be more creative on Myspace its also more difficult..
' With hindsight I was more than blind, lost without a clue
Thought I was getting carat gold and what I got was you
Myspace is generally easier to use, and not as patronising.
Having used all 3.... here are my observations:
1) Bebo is rubbish
2) Myspace is better for bands and creative people, and making cyber friends who you never speak to or meet
3) Facebook allows you to communicate with real life friends and classmates, and is the most accessible (No need to edit profile)
Myspace lags behind facebook in the development of site features.... such as applications, and the ability to directly 'comment back'
I prefer myspace, I like making my profile all pretty and personal :)
I find facebook is more popular with older generations where as myspace is more popular with say 14-17 year olds
just because you've forgotten doesn't mean you're forgiven
“The good things don’t always soften the bad, but vice-versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.”
“Nobody important? Blimey, that’s amazing. Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important before.”
“If it’s time to go, remember what you’re leaving. Remember the best. My friends have always been the best of me.”
I dislike Facebook much less than MySpace. The whole layout of MySpace drives me crazy, especially the placement of the ads (and the "___ is in your extended network" thing is just too stupid for words). The vast majority of pages are entirely illegible (sorry people, but it doesn't actually work to put black writing on a background that's mostly black), and since people's usernames are not their real names and can be changed at will, it's hard to even know who anyone is.
I find that Facebook is a fairly good way to keep in touch with people. I usually know who people are that try to friend me, because their profile has their real name instead of some completely uninformative username-of-the-week kind of a thing. I also don't get creepy emails from total strangers, or all the spam I get on MySpace. It also has measures to keep profiles organized (as well as legible), so it's easier to find particular information, like what an old friend is studying at university or whatever.
I also think Facebook is aimed at a much older population than MySpace. I don't think I know anyone over about 15 that still uses MySpace, but it seems to be quite popular with middle school and late elementary school kids. I think it's probably because Facebook started out as just for college students, and then expanded to high schools as well, but it's only relatively recently that you stopped having to give a school email address to sign up, so it was harder for kids to just lie about their age.
Emily
(\__/)
(O.o )
(> < ) This Is Bunny. Copy Bunny into your signature to help him on his way to world domination.
I have both a myspace page and a facebook page. Myspace was great until I discovered facebook. While myspace is sometimes easier to work with, facebook just has a lot more to offer than myspace. I never update myspace anymore... I don't have to worry about stupid and confusing HTML codes with facebook either. Who wants to work with HTML codes when you have to worry about passing all of your Human Anatomy & Physiology classes.
1-800-448-3000 Anyone can call, at any age, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call free of charge
from anywhere in the United States, the U.S. Territories and Canada. The people
on the other end are trained crisis counselors.
