Facebook Visitors Increase

Facebook saw its UK internet visitor numbers rise by almost 4% in June, giving the site a 16.6% share of the market, according to new figures from Hitwise.

The past six months have seen Facebook’s audience grow by 502%, compared to 33% for Bebo and 30% for MySpace.

Bebo is ranked number one according to the Hitwise figures, with 35.3%, whilst MySpace, on 30.9%, is in second place and Facebook in third place.

Almost a third of Bebo’s audience (32%) is under 18, compared with 14% for MySpace and 5% for Facebook.

In April, Bebo hired Angel Gambino, a former senior executive at MTV, to the position of vice president of music in a move to expand the site’s appeal (see Bebo Gets Gambino For Music Push).

David Evans, director at Continental Research, recently wrote a NewsLine column which examined the world of social networking and what it might mean for advertisers and brands (see The Impact Of Social Networking On Brands).

Hitwise: http://www.hitwise.co.uk/