Study Finds YouTube More Popular Than MySpace

Posted on August 1, 2006

The Guardian reports on a Nielsen/NetRatings study that found YouTube has passed MySpace in online popularity. YouTube has a 3.9% share of global internet visits while MySpace is at 3.35%.

YouTube has established itself at the top of the league of the new generation of community websites by becoming even more popular than MySpace, according to research.

The video sharing site has taken a 3.9% share of global internet visits a day compared with 3.35% for MySpace, according to internet analysis company Alexa.

YouTube's popularity has grown immensely over the first six months of the year. In May its reach outgrew that of the BBC's websites.

According to Nielsen/NetRatings, YouTube's American user base grew by 297% in the first half of the year.

A study from April had found that Myspace's Video section had passed YouTube in popularity. YouTube's rapid quarterly growth rate reported in the Neilsen study of 155% must have helped it surge passed MySpace if the data is to be believed. GigaOM shows a Hitwise graph that shows MySpace is still far ahead of YouTube in popularity.

J. Leroy points out that businesses that stop growing are often incorrectly perceived as failures. Enough is never enough." MySpace still has a 9% quarterly growth rate according to the study.

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