The rise of the social networks has this year translated into valuations that have some fretting about another internet bubble. Facebook is valued at $50bn, while Twitter and Zynga are rumoured to be worth about $10bn. The online discount site Groupon is now valued at $15bn.
These sites are hugely popular in the UK. According to data compiled by Nielsen and Ukom, the industry organisation set up last year to oversee the measurement of online traffic, they are prominent in the list of 50 most popular web brands.
Yet the statistics offer a stark warning tale to internet brands and investors. In the same report seven years ago, the data shows that the biggest brands included Friends Reunited, Freeserve, Lycos and Kelkoo.
Dan Cryan, senior analyst at Screen Digest, said: "Internet audiences are simultaneously conservative and fickle. Where there's a site that translates well to the internet, and that could offer anything from groceries to email, customers will continue to use it." Yet he added: "If there is a newer and better version of an existing service, it is incredibly easy to be usurped and replaced. Especially if you're asking for money and a free service comes along."
The Nielsen/Ukon report tracks unique UK visitors to websites every January, and was launched in 2004. As well as a change in the companies on the list, the rise of hits has been staggering. In 2004, Microsoft's MSN portal topped the list with 16.6 million recorded hits, which "would barely make the top 10 today, such has been the growth in online traffic," Nielsen said. It saw less than half the traffic that Google received last month.
James Smythe, general manager of Ukom, said: "The process of getting online has never been easier and people are much more comfortable with the process."
He picked the rise of social media among the 50 most popular sites as one of the key trends since the start of the survey, saying that over the past seven years, there has been "huge growth in the use of sites built on social content, where we mostly find contributions from people we trust".
In 2004, the only social networking site to make the list was Friends Reunited. Now, social media companies make up a fifth of the top 50 sites. The most popular is Facebook, which did not exist in January 2004. It is now the third largest web brand by UK visitors. It first made the survey in 2008, when it debuted at 12th, but now has more than 26 million unique hits every month from the UK.
Other examples of the rise of social media, Nielsen said, include YouTube, Wikipedia and Tripadvisor.
Twitter was the 38th most popular site in the UK. It has been in the frame as a potential takeover target since the turn of the year, with talk that investment bankers had valued it at $10bn. Dick Costolo, the newly promoted chief executive of the company that made a $45m loss last year, remained quiet on the company's valuation at a trade show in Barcelona last week, and would only say it was "already making money".
Mr Smythe said: "The web has always made it easier for people to feed their fundamental desire to socialise, but the critical element of trust in social online environments has now become mainstream".
Another social networking phenomenon to emerge that did not exist at the initiation of the first survey is Zynga. The social gaming company behind Farmville is ranked at 48th on the list. As users have rushed to virtually plough virtual fields investors have followed, and the company is believed to be in the late stages of talks over an investment that would value the company at $10bn.
Mr Smythe said: "A greater proportion of these companies have profitable business models. We could expect in a few years that everyone in the top 50 will be profitable."
Yet Mr Cryan warned: "Internet time is as much about having a short memory as speed of evolution." He continued: "The dream is to find the next Google: a company that serves a real need and can monetise that service. But not everyone can be a Google and some will get their fingers burnt".
Despite the rise of social media, its standard bearer, Facebook, has not been able to overhaul Google as the most visited site in the UK, a position it has held since 2006. The research group Hitwise found that Facebook had more UK internet visits than Google on Christmas Day, the first time it has been the most popular website in the country. Yet in January, Google received 34 million hits to Facebook's 25.9 million. This did not include the hits to the Google-owned video sharing site YouTube of 17.8 million. Seven years ago unique visits to Google, then the third most popular, totalled 13.4 million.
Search engines feature highly in the table. While Microsoft's Bing has been lifted to second position by being bundled with MSN and WindowsLive, Yahoo! still ranks as high as 4th – the same position it held in the original report – with 21.1 million hits in January. AskJeeves, now Ask.com, has fallen from 10th to 12th.
Nielsen said that the online world was "increasingly reflecting the offline world, with the web's 50 most popular brands consisting more than ever of businesses established in the 'real world'."
Seven years ago only 18 of the top 50 sites had an established presence offline, including Argos, the BBC and Tesco. Now that has increased to 25. Yet only nine companies with an established "real world" presence away from the internet that made the inaugural table remain as popular today.
The highest sector rise was in media, up from nine sites in the top 50 in 2004 to 16, a statistic Mr Cryan called "staggering". Telecoms and internet service providers suffered the biggest casualties, down eight companies, including NTL and Blueyonder. Five technology brands dropped out, such as Real and Macromedia, along with four travel service providers, which included Lastminute.com and easyJet.
Friday 25 February 2011
Friday 18 February 2011
Half Term work
If you want to do some exam style essays here are a selection, I don't mind if you want to email me your responses over half term to shsgmedia@mac.com
Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production
1a) ‘Fail to plan and you plan to fail’. How important was your research and planning in helping you to target a specific audience? Refer to both foundation & advanced portfolios. (25 marks)
1b) What role did the concept of narrative play in the development of one of your productions? (25 marks)
Section B: Online Media
- ‘Without convergence the internet would be obsolete’. How far do you agree or disagree with this statement in terms of audiences and institutions? (50 marks)
Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production
1a) ‘The real creativity takes place in post production’. Did you find that technology helped or hindered your creative ideas? (25 Marks)
1b) ‘Media language is a negotiated concept’. What was your preferred reading for one of your productions and how far did your target audience adhere to this? (25 marks)
Section B: Online Media
2) Web 2 has significantly changed the Media. In what ways has it benefited audiences and what must institutions do to retain control? (50 Marks)
Thursday 17 February 2011
Wednesday 16 February 2011
Monday 14 February 2011
Timed Essay
Please give this in or email it to me by Wednesday and I shall return it to you on Friday, thats the deal!
Tuesday 8 February 2011
Student presentations
Amy and ceiridwen film industry powerpoint
View more presentations from shsgmedia.
Wikinomics
View more presentations from shsgmedia.
Tuesday 1 February 2011
Women over 40 have more Facebook friends than their children, study claims
Women over 40 have more Facebook friends than their children, study claims
Women over 40 tend to have up to four times as many Facebook friends as their children, according to new research.
Mothers were able to capitalise on their wide range of contacts, including friends of their children and even their parents, to collect thousands of friends on Facebook Photo: ALAMY10:45AM GMT 31 Jan 2011
The study also identified six different categories of users including those who use the social networking site to build business contacts, charity crusaders who send out constant awareness-raising status updates, and others who simply want to stay in touch with family and friends
Take our quiz to see what kind of Facebooker you are
The research, based on an analysis of 2,000 Facebook users found that mothers were able to capitalise on their wide range of contacts, including friends of their children and even their parents, to collect thousands of friends.
Tammi Williams, who conducted the study, said: "One reason is because, when you get to 45 or 50 you have not only your friends, but your children's friends, acquaintances from school and others.
"Children and teenagers tend to stick to their own age group."
The survey found that the biggest group of Facebook users is the 'Feel-Gooders' - people who enjoy the community spirit of Facebook and seeing what their friends are doing.
Related Articles
Women over 40 'have more Facebook friends than their children' 01 Feb 2011
Starbucks, O2 and Yo! Sushi sign up for Facebook Places 31 Jan 2011
Facebook launches 'Places Deals' for UK 31 Jan 2011
Ms Williams said: "They like to collect as many people as they can.
"They get involved in games like Farmville and like sending virtual gifts to their neighbours.
"Feel-Gooders love the community spirit of Facebook and the chance it gives them to learn about other people's cultures."
The second biggest group is 'Do-Gooders', who use Facebook as a tool to raise awareness of a campaign or cause - and also the group least likely to reveal personal information.
At the opposite end was the 'All About Me' group - 'peacocks' who use Facebook to flaunt their successes, latest purchases and the other "minutiae of their life".
Ms Williams called these women the "ones most women love to hate".
She said: "They don't care if they lose a friend or two along the way - they're definitely not interested in other people."
The other groups identified in the survey, conducted by greeting cards company Suga Lumps, included 'Friends and Family' - people with a small circle of close friends, and women using Facebook as a "glorified dating site".
The final group - 'Business Bodies' - use social media to take any opportunity to plug their latest business venture or project.
Ms Williams said: "The most interesting thing, if you look at the research, you can identify these types of people quite easily from looking at their Facebook page.
"You probably have a few of them in your own friends list already."
Women over 40 tend to have up to four times as many Facebook friends as their children, according to new research.
Mothers were able to capitalise on their wide range of contacts, including friends of their children and even their parents, to collect thousands of friends on Facebook Photo: ALAMY10:45AM GMT 31 Jan 2011
The study also identified six different categories of users including those who use the social networking site to build business contacts, charity crusaders who send out constant awareness-raising status updates, and others who simply want to stay in touch with family and friends
Take our quiz to see what kind of Facebooker you are
The research, based on an analysis of 2,000 Facebook users found that mothers were able to capitalise on their wide range of contacts, including friends of their children and even their parents, to collect thousands of friends.
Tammi Williams, who conducted the study, said: "One reason is because, when you get to 45 or 50 you have not only your friends, but your children's friends, acquaintances from school and others.
"Children and teenagers tend to stick to their own age group."
The survey found that the biggest group of Facebook users is the 'Feel-Gooders' - people who enjoy the community spirit of Facebook and seeing what their friends are doing.
Related Articles
Women over 40 'have more Facebook friends than their children' 01 Feb 2011
Starbucks, O2 and Yo! Sushi sign up for Facebook Places 31 Jan 2011
Facebook launches 'Places Deals' for UK 31 Jan 2011
Ms Williams said: "They like to collect as many people as they can.
"They get involved in games like Farmville and like sending virtual gifts to their neighbours.
"Feel-Gooders love the community spirit of Facebook and the chance it gives them to learn about other people's cultures."
The second biggest group is 'Do-Gooders', who use Facebook as a tool to raise awareness of a campaign or cause - and also the group least likely to reveal personal information.
At the opposite end was the 'All About Me' group - 'peacocks' who use Facebook to flaunt their successes, latest purchases and the other "minutiae of their life".
Ms Williams called these women the "ones most women love to hate".
She said: "They don't care if they lose a friend or two along the way - they're definitely not interested in other people."
The other groups identified in the survey, conducted by greeting cards company Suga Lumps, included 'Friends and Family' - people with a small circle of close friends, and women using Facebook as a "glorified dating site".
The final group - 'Business Bodies' - use social media to take any opportunity to plug their latest business venture or project.
Ms Williams said: "The most interesting thing, if you look at the research, you can identify these types of people quite easily from looking at their Facebook page.
"You probably have a few of them in your own friends list already."
Work for Tuesday 1st February
We have been reading and annotating the notes from the text book.
1. You should ensure that your powerpoint presentations are completed. They must have up to date examples and statistics for each point that you make, this is most important, as up to date case studies are a vital part of the assessment objectives.
You must email this presentation to me at shsgmedia@mac.com and I will include it on this blog. This must be done by the end of the day as you will be presenting them to each other tomorrow morning.
2. You should look at the powerpoint on this blog 'Online Short' and work your way through it writing answers to the questions in your notes.
Both of these activitites must be completed.
1. You should ensure that your powerpoint presentations are completed. They must have up to date examples and statistics for each point that you make, this is most important, as up to date case studies are a vital part of the assessment objectives.
You must email this presentation to me at shsgmedia@mac.com and I will include it on this blog. This must be done by the end of the day as you will be presenting them to each other tomorrow morning.
2. You should look at the powerpoint on this blog 'Online Short' and work your way through it writing answers to the questions in your notes.
Both of these activitites must be completed.
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