Did you know that Imeem is the fastest-growing social site in the U.S (up 1,590 percent in monthly uniques). And that AIM Pages is growing slightly faster than Digg (345 percent growth versus 323 percent)? Well, at least according to comScore. I asked comScore to do a ranking of social sites in the U.S. and then I reordered the list by growth rate. Here it is: Here are my takeaways. MySpace is still growing at a healthy 23 percent, despite its size. But Facebook is coming on fast, with 129 percent growth. Notice also the strong showing by Bebo (growing 83 percent) versus the lackluster U.S. growth of Hi5 (3 percent) and the decline of Xanga (negative 55 percent). In blogging platforms, Blogger is beating Six Apart on both absolute numbers (32 million visitors versus 13 million) and growth (55 percent versus 44 percent). In the doldrums territory, you’ve got Windows Live Spaces (with a one percent decline) and Yahoo Groups (four percent decline). And in the you-ought-to-seriously-think-of-shutting-this-down territory, there is Lycos Tripod (23 percent decline), MSN Groups (36 percent decline), and Yahoo 360 (’nuff said). Here is a more comprehensive list of social sites ranked by total number of visitors. It includes sites where comScore could not calculate a growth rate because it did not have enough data for September, 2006. Some sites that stand out on this list, having come out of nowhere in the past year, include WordPress.com (with 11.9 million monthly visitors), Freewebs (with 6.6 million), BuzzNet (with 4.4 million),and Kaboodle (with 2.5 million). (Update: Also, you will notice that Google’s social networking site Orkut isn’t even on the list. That is because while it had 24.6 million visitors worldwide in September, 2007, Orkut only attracted 503,000 visitors in the U.S.). CrunchBase Information Imeem Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
FacebookSecrets, the blog that posted the accidentally released source code for the Facebook main index page, has been taken down. The blog was hosted on the Google-owned Blogger blog network and was removed pursuant to a DMCA take down notice from Facebook. A new blog (also on Blogger) has gone up that chronicles the back and forth between Google and the author (well, it’s one way communication, actually). Facebook’s statement on the matter came down to “it offers no useful insight into the inner workings of Facebook” and “the reprinting of this code violates several laws.” We disagreed on both points – the leak provided information to potential hackers as to potential security holes, and the fact that Facebook accidentally released the code themselves on their site may have made it very difficult for them to claim protection under the law. That being said, it’s unlikely the anonymous author of the blog would be around to defend his/her position. I’m surprised this didn’t happen sooner. → Read More
Pardon me, but didn’t LG just strike a huge deal with Yahoo! recently? I suppose you shouldn’t even bother choosing sides when you can have the best of both worlds. LG has announced that it will be including some of Google’s mobile apps on future phones, which will include Gmail, Mobile Maps, Search, and Blogger. Ten of these new “Google-fied” phones will drop this year in several countries (US included), with more to follow in the future. But the biggest news out of this? LG is going to start selling their phones to carriers as “LG-Google” phones and devices. Pretty ridiculous. You know one day Google is going to get so big, you’ll walk into a Starbucks only to see the Googlechino – a fresh blend of coffee, milk, espresso, and 486 chips the manager found in his basement. LG Phones to Bundle Google Apps [Giga Om] → Read More
The new Blogger beta product, open to a limited number of users in August, is now live for all users. The key changes include the addition of tags, which Google has always called “labels,” and an option to create a private blog. You can also now sign into your blogger account using your Google credentials, and Google has made editing the template and posts significantly more user friendly. None of these changes put Blogger ahead of its primary competitors. For example, SixApart’s Comet product allows not only for private blogs, but privacy setting can also be changed for each post. but it is a sign of hope for Blogger users who’ve been stuck with last generation software for years. → Read More
<img src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/or sues bloggers. That's the first rule of blogging. Therefore, it's strange that the Masked Blogger, apparently a UK-based Apple employee, decided to create a tell-all — OK, fairly tame and boot-licking — expose of the dirty laundry sequestered in the back rooms of Cupertino's golden children. Folks a currently trying to figure out who this guy is and I seriously doubt Apple itself will be able to root him out without a subpoena — but that doesn't mean they won't try! — so let's enjoy it while we can. Blog [The Masked Blogger] → Read More
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