YouTube overtakes MySpace
The rise and rise of YouTube
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 internet analysis company Alexa the video sharing site has taken a 3.9% share of global internet visits a day compared with 3.35% for MySpace.
YouTube’s popularity has grown immensely over the first six months of the year. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, YouTube’s American user base grew by 297% in the first half of the year.
Its success has been such that a price tag of as much as $1bn (£536bn) - far more than the £332m that Rupert Murdoch paid for MySpace - has been put on the company and rumours are circulating of a possible initial public offering.
YouTube’s reach - the number of users per million that visit a particular site - has increased by 155% in the past three months. In contrast, MySpace’s growth appears to have slowed, increasing by just 9% in the same period.
“YouTube has a far more universal appeal, being pure entertainment with a global appeal,” said Dan Calladine, the research director at digital agency network Isobar.
The average visitor spends 28 minutes on YouTube, with men 20% more likely to visit the site than women.