2024 State of Gaming Report
Facebook and Hi5 More than Double Global Visitor Bases During Past Year
RESTON, VA, August 12, 2008 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study of worldwide usage of social networking sites, indicating that while the growth in new users in North America is beginning to level off, it is burgeoning in other regions around the world. During the past year, the total North American audience of social networkers has grown 9 percent compared to a much larger 25 percent growth for the world at large. The Middle East-Africa region (up 66 percent), Europe (up 35 percent), and Latin America (up 33 percent) have each grown at well-above average rates.
Social Networking Growth by Worldwide RegionJune 2008 vs. June 2007Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ - Home and Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
Unique Visitors (000)
Jun-07
Jun-08
Percent Change
Worldwide
464,437
580,510
25%
Asia Pacific
162,738
200,555
23%
Europe
122,527
165,256
35%
North America
120,848
131,255
9%
Latin America
40,098
53,248
33%
Middle East - Africa
18,226
30,197
66%
“While the social networking trend first took off in North America, it is beginning to reach a point of maturity in the region,” said Jack Flanagan, Comscore executive vice president. “However, the phenomenon is still growing rapidly in other regions around the world – especially as the established American brands turn their focus to developing markets.”
Facebook and Hi5 Lead Global Growth among Top Social Networking Sites
During the past year, many of the top social networking sites have demonstrated rapid growth in their global user bases. Facebook.com, which took over the global lead among social networking sites in April 2008, has made a concerted effort to become more culturally relevant in markets outside the U.S. Its introduction of natural language interfaces in several markets has helped propel the site to 153-percent growth during the past year. Meanwhile, the emphasis Hi5.com has put on its full-scale localization strategy has helped the site double its visitor base to more than 56 million. Other social networking sites, including Friendster.com (up 50 percent), Orkut (up 41 percent), and Bebo.com (up 32 percent) have demonstrated particularly strong growth on a global basis.
Worldwide Growth among Selected Social Networking SitesJune 2008 vs. June 2007Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ Home and Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Jun-2007
Jun-2008
% Change
Total Internet : Total Audience
778,310
860,514
11%
Social Networking
FACEBOOK.COM
52,167
132,105
153%
MYSPACE.COM
114,147
117,582
3%
HI5.COM
28,174
56,367
100%
FRIENDSTER.COM
24,675
37,080
50%
Orkut
24,120
34,028
41%
BEBO.COM
18,200
24,017
32%
Skyrock Network
17,638
21,041
19%
Facebook Gains Traction in Europe and Other Regions
Facebook’s recent ascension to become the top global social networking site has been spurred by its substantial growth across worldwide regions. Though its largest visitor base is still in North America (49 million), Facebook’s growth in the region is a relatively modest 38-percent. In every other worldwide region, Facebook’s audience has more than quadrupled. Europe is quickly catching up with North America as Facebook’s largest visitor base with 35 million visitors in June, a 303-percent increase and a net addition of nearly 27 million monthly visitors versus year ago. Other worldwide regions have seen even more dramatic growth on a percentage basis.
Worldwide Growth for Facebook.comJune 2008 vs. June 2007Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ Home and Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
35,698
49,248
38%
8,751
35,263
303%
3,712
20,712
458%
2,974
14,951
403%
1,033
11,931
1055%
“Facebook has done an exceptional job of leveraging its brand internationally during the past year,” added Mr. Flanagan. “By increasing the site’s relevance to local markets through local language interface translation, the site is now competing strongly or even capturing the lead in several markets where it had a relatively minor presence just a year ago.”
About ComscoreComscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/boilerplate.
PressBill DaddiDaddi Brand Communications646-370-1341press@comscore.com