The first time I wrote about YouTube, it had just crossed 20 million visitors in the U.S. Just 4 days after my post, YouTube was scooped up by Google for $1.65B in Google stock. At today’s stock price, the deal is worth over $2B.
There is certainly something magical about reaching 20 million. Web 2.0 darlings, also prime acquisition targets – Digg and Facebook both crossed this milestone last month.
Digg edged out Facebook, with 2.3 million additional unique visitors
Facebook is growing 3x faster than MySpace (on a percentage basis)
To size up the quality of these visitors, let’s go beyond unique visitors. Let’s look at some key site engagement metrics:
MySpace is #1 across all metrics
Facebook is #2 for all metrics except UVs
Average stay on MySpace is 2x more time than on Facebook
Now take a look at the chart below. After a relatively slow start, Digg is now outpacing everyone else. Facebook is beginning to look up again after spending most of 2006 in flat territory. Both Digg’s and Facebook’s growth and expansion strategies seem to be paying off in a big way.
Let’s see how things look in six months. My Facebook invites are up 2x over the last month. Something big is indeed happening. Microsoft and Yahoo should take a long deep look at this as well.
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