Cyclops
July 6th, 2007, 02:46 AM
Brand loyalty doesn't mean much for social networking sites, according to a study from Parks Associates, which found that many users alternate between the likes of MySpace and Facebook.
Half the users surveyed regularly use more than one social networking site, while one in six users have three or more accounts.
Fickle users and recent strides by Facebook to open its network, have cast doubt on the future importance of MySpace, which currently dominates a field in which rival Facebook has seen an explosion in registrations.
"MySpace is, by far, still the most popular social network," Alex Burmaster of Nielsen told The Times. "However, if last month's growth rates were to remain consistent, Facebook would catch MySpace in September."
As the battle for social networking dominance heats up, both MySpace and Facebook are looking for ways to attract and, more importantly, keep users on their respective sites. Both firms have expanded relationships with developers to create user-pleasing applications.
MySpace has announced a change in its technology strategy that will allow other online companies to plug directly into the social network. Facebook announced a similar plan last month.
To better open its network, and win the battle for users, MySpace founder Chris DeWolfe told The Financial Times that the company would be bringing more developers.
While both Facebook and MySpace have opened the doors to their networks in a bid to become the centerpiece of the digital landscape, the two have adopted rather different approaches to revenue-sharing.
Facebook has said companies that develop applications that run on its social network are free to make money on them through advertising, but MySpace hasn't been so open. The News Corp. property has blocked ad-supported services operating on its network.
Half the users surveyed regularly use more than one social networking site, while one in six users have three or more accounts.
Fickle users and recent strides by Facebook to open its network, have cast doubt on the future importance of MySpace, which currently dominates a field in which rival Facebook has seen an explosion in registrations.
"MySpace is, by far, still the most popular social network," Alex Burmaster of Nielsen told The Times. "However, if last month's growth rates were to remain consistent, Facebook would catch MySpace in September."
As the battle for social networking dominance heats up, both MySpace and Facebook are looking for ways to attract and, more importantly, keep users on their respective sites. Both firms have expanded relationships with developers to create user-pleasing applications.
MySpace has announced a change in its technology strategy that will allow other online companies to plug directly into the social network. Facebook announced a similar plan last month.
To better open its network, and win the battle for users, MySpace founder Chris DeWolfe told The Financial Times that the company would be bringing more developers.
While both Facebook and MySpace have opened the doors to their networks in a bid to become the centerpiece of the digital landscape, the two have adopted rather different approaches to revenue-sharing.
Facebook has said companies that develop applications that run on its social network are free to make money on them through advertising, but MySpace hasn't been so open. The News Corp. property has blocked ad-supported services operating on its network.