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MySpace, Facebook Still On Top

If MySpace were to lose its top spot among social networks, it'd have a long way to fall. Though US visits to the powerhouse were down five percent since last year, MySpace still commanded nearly 74% of the social networking market, according to Hitwise.  Facebook, long in second place but up 32%, pulled in nearly 15% of US social networkers, a share that towers over its nearest competitor's.

Social Networks, YouTube Led UK Searches Last Year

It's hard to believe data about 2007 is still being released, but a new Hitwise report is interesting, nonetheless.  It seems that social networks and YouTube were quite popular last year, with related terms dominating a list of the top ten UK searches.

Facebook Weakening In The UK

New Hitwise data makes clear that current UK Internet traffic to Facebook is roughly seven times what it was one year ago.  Unfortunately for the social network, it also demonstrates that Facebook hasn't done a great job of recovering from its most recent January lull.

AOL's 850 Million Purchase

In the last couple of days one of the biggest stories has been the purchase of Social Network Giant, Bebo by AOL. With approximately 5% search market share and being one of the most visited sites on the planet, can Bebo really help make a difference to a search property which is been fairly average for the last few years? Here's some coverage of the Bebo purchase around the Internet:

AOL Buys Bebo

In discussions concerning social networks, AOL's name doesn't come up too often.  That's liable to change, though, as the corporation has acquired Bebo.

Facebook Loses Users In The UK

Between December and January, Facebook experienced a five percent decline in unique visitors in the UK.  From the company's perspective, this certainly isn't good.  The dip probably doesn't spell the end of the popular social network, however.

Google or MySpace to Grab Bebo?

TechCrunch speculates that there’s a 51% chance that Google might buy Bebo—or maybe MySpace will snap up the smaller social networking company.

Social Networks Connected To Teen Suicides

Cato the Elder once said, "I would much rather have men ask why I have no statue, than why I have one."  But Cato the Elder died over 2,000 years ago, and somewhere along the way, a few kids seem to have gotten the idea that Bebo and MySpace pages are desirable memorials.

Despite Facebook Rise, MySpace Still King

All the press and the industry observers talked about last year was Facebook, which made it seem like MySpace was soooo 2006. Social networkers, though, must not have been paying too much attention.According to data from Hitwise, MySpace pulled in 76 percent of US visits to social networking websites in 2007, and 95 percent of them were return visitors in December. This can be interpreted that not only is MySpace commanding the vast majority of the social networking market, but also inspires some pretty fierce loyalty.

Consumers Still See Facebook as Great for Privacy

With all the buzz about Facebook's ongoing privacy gaffes (I've been one of many voices calling attention to them), TechCrunch UK covers another perspective that's more accurate in terms of how consumers perceive it: