Get this: User-generated content sites--venues for photo-sharing, video-sharing, and blogging--comprised five out of the top 10 fastest growing Web brands in July 2006, according to
Nielsen/NetRatings.
Among the findings of the Nielsen analysis: Image-hosting site ImageShack ranked No. 4 among July's fastest growing Web brands, increasing 233 percent year-over-year, from
a unique audience of 2.3 million to 7.7 million. Heavy.com, a video-sharing site, took the No. 5 spot, increasing 213 percent, from 965,000 to 3.0 million unique visitors, while photo-sharing site
Flickr followed at No. 6, growing 201 percent, from 2.1 million to 6.3 million unique visitors.
Other user-generated content sites that made it into the top 10 fastest growing Web brands
were MySpace, with a 183 percent year-over-year increase, and Wikipedia, with a 181 percent year-over-year increase, according to Nielsen.
"User-generated content sites have seen significant
growth over the past year, owing in large part to their reliance on viral marketing," said Jon Gibs, director of media analytics, Nielsen/NetRatings, in a statement. "They also benefit from their
cost-effectiveness- the content is practically free."
And Nielsen found that among the top 10 Web brands overall, MySpace, with its 183 percent increase, was the No. 1 fastest growing,
moving from 16.2 million unique visitors in July 2005 to 46.0 million in July 2006. Google ranked No. 2, growing 23 percent, from a unique audience of 76.2 million to 94.0 million, while eBay rounded
out the top three, increasing 13 percent, from 51.1 million to 57.8 million unique visitors.