MySpace Rules the Web

NewsCorp-owned MySpace garners the highest U.S. market share of visits on the Web, even beating out Yahoo Mail and portals. That's according to data released by Hitwise.

For the week ending July 8, MySpace had 4.46 percent market share of visits, making it the top site on the Internet. The social networking site surpassed widely-used Web-based email and portal sites including Yahoo Mail (4.42 percent); Yahoo (4.25 percent); Google (3.89 percent) and MySpace's own email site (2.85 percent). eBay ranks eighth on the list with 1.59 percent market share.

MySpace's growth rate was gradual, but it enjoyed a 4,300 percent increase over a two year period. "This site has increased more than we've seen in my memory of any of the sites we track," said Bill Tancer, general manager of Global Research at Hitwise. "There doesn't seem to be any end in sight.

While Tancer said MySpace could maintain the top position; he leaves open the possibility for an incumbent. "We have to realize with the Internet there's always a chance someone can come up with a brand new way of doing things and take over the dominance of MySpace."

"We are still discovering the Internet laws of gravity as it relates to a site's potential to grow on the Internet," said Tancer. "The fact that MySpace was virtually unknown by the mainstream Internet users two years ago and now claims the top position demonstrates how hyper-competitive the Internet really is."

Hitwise monitors top-level clickstream data for over 25 million Internet users who interact with over 500,000 Web sites across 160 industry categories. Data are collected via a combination of ISP data partnerships and opt-in panels within local and International privacy legislation.