Tag: analytics

Social networking trends: new players for 2008

Update, March 20, 2008: Joining Dots took the data presented below and put it in graph form, along with further analysis. See the entry Social Networks Long Tail.

top-social-networks-feb.pngRecent research from the web analytics firm Compete turns up some interesting information about the popularity of various social networking sites. Compete’s comparison of social networking traffic from February 2008 and February 2007 shows dramatic growth in up-and-comers like Ning (4803% change) and Twitter (4368%). LinkedIn also experienced a hefty spike in usage (729%). (Click image for the chart showing comparisons by social network.)

Meanwhile, MySpace is still the top social network, but usage actually decreased by 1 percent. Facebook, the No. 2 social network, grew by 77 percent between February 2007 and February 2008, an indication that Facebook’s popularity may be leveling off (as previously suggested on this very blog).

(Hat tip to Jonathan’s blog.)

—————-
Now playing: The New Pornographers – Myriad Harbour
via FoxyTunes

Silobreaker: a new PR analytics tool

I’ve been playing around a bit with a new analytics tool (and news source) called Silobreaker. It’s an online search service that provides contextual search results in a graphical format. Below is an example of one tool, a network map that allows you to see contextual links between your search term and other relevant data.

silobreaker_screen1.jpg
(Click image for larger version)

I’m not sure what it all means yet, but it’s interesting. I see some possible applications with measuring media relations efforts, media placement and overall online reputation management.

Silobreaker also has a blog, if you’re interested in updates.

Thanks to Lois Kelly for blogging about this and another interesting but probably less practical tool (for my purposes), HubDub.