Move over MySpace

Thu 12th Jul, 2007 in International News

Is the world’s most talked about website on a slippery slide down to the bottom of the social networking chain? Quite possibly if usage patterns in the UK are anything to go by, where its growth rates are trailing well behind that of its competitors Facebook and Bebo.

The findings were a result of a Nielsen/NetRatings study, which pins Facebook as the reason for the recent drop in MySpace traffic in the UK. The growth rates of the new kids on the social networking block are well exceeding those of the established big boy, which looks like it has reached its peak in terms of popularity. Over the past six months Facebook has grown at a whopping 523 per cent compared with MySpace’s 28 percent, while Bebo has grown 49 percent in the same period.

But Rupert Murdoch’s behemoth isn’t down for the count just yet: it still ranks at the top of the UK charts in terms of overall users with 6.5 million unique visits during May. Where Facebook and Bebo are winning out however is the all important area of – œuser engagement’ that looks at the amount of time spent on the site.

“MySpace does trail the other two when it comes to user engagement. Bebo leads the way, with its average visitor spending just over an hour and a half on the site – almost ten more minutes than the average ‘Facebooker’ and almost a whole hour more than the average ‘MySpacer.’”

Stay tuned to Fasterlouder for further updates on MySpace’s inevitable downfall.