Also: The end of web radio in the US? | The art of conference blogging? | Sky's new web explorers | Reevoo reeevamps | Gratuitous web link of the day
Facebook recorded international growth of 270% in the past year, according to the latest comScore data, which shows the site's estimated unique user figure rising from 14.083m in June 2006 to 52.167m this June.
Tagged, though still a far smaller site at 13.167m users this June, grew by 774% in a year and Bebo by 172% to 18.2m users.
Hi5 rose 56% to 28.174m, Friendster 65% to 24.675m and Orkut by 78% to 24.12m.
And MySpace? Its user base grew by 72% in a year from 66.401m to 114.147m users.
Globally, Facebook and MySpace are strongest in North America with around two-thirds of their audience from the US and Canada, but the same is true of Bebo which has 63% of its audience base in Europe.
Orkut is strongest in South America and Friendster in Asia-Pacific. I don't get on with either of those sites, but I wonder whether regional trends are down to seams of friend networks or particularly features that appeal to different cultural groups?
It would be interesting to look at the features and usage patterns on different sites to try and work out what the trends are here, and which sites have the most likelihood of forming international networks.
Meanwhile, Facebook's communications director made some kind of explanation for the site's downtime last night.
"This morning, we temporarily took down the Facebook site to fix a bug we identified earlier today. This was not the result of a security breach. Specifically, the bug caused some third party proxy servers to cache otherwise inaccessible content. The result was that an isolated group of users could see some pages that were not intended for them. The site has now been restored, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."
That bug, it turned out, was causing private Facebook pages to be randomly served up to other users and emails to go astray. But at least we learned the cost of our addiction, should it all go bits up... (Register)
Lastly, Facebook pulled a music application off the site for copyright violation. Facebook Audio allowed users to stream full-length songs on their profile pages, a la MySpace, but hadn't complied with an earlier takedown request from the Recording Industry Association of America. (Wall Street Journal)
Later: Lordy, I know I write loads about Facebook. But that's where a lot of the discussion is right now. It's the ruddy zeitgeist, innit?
The end of web radio in the US?
The web radio controversy is rumbling on in the US, where nascent internet businesses face being crippled by proposals for a new royalty system that would charge sites $500 for each station they create. That could be catastrophic for sites like Pandora, which provides some pre-set channels but also a swathe of customisable ones. Pandora's founder Tim Westergren said the system would mean Pandora could have to pay up to $1bn in fees and will "bankrupt us, and every web radio company," he said.
The music industry is in crisis because of falling record sales, of course, but equally many web radio stations don't break even now, let alone with this new fees system. The digital royalties collection body SoundExchange has helpfully suggested the fees could be capped at $50,000 regardless of the number of channels, but in return wants more data from web radio sites on listening habits and better protection against illegal copying of songs. (San Jose Mercury News)
The art of conference blogging
A subject close to my heart: the art of conference blogging. Ethan Zuckerman explains that he learnt to score baseball games when he was small using some kind of sports shorthand, but carrying this "anti-social and obsessive" behaviour into his adult conference-going life has had its problems. Some people find his posts too detailed, whereas others revel in that.
Zuckerman says blogging makes sure he pays attention at blogs (rather than drinking tea with friends in the corridor - imagine that!). Posting in detail means he can use his posts as a record to refer to later, and the number of links he gets for conference coverage helps boost his Google rank.
His tips, in short:
- Preparation: Line up the names of speakers, links to their sites and the names of session in advance.
- Writing: Write your posts offline in a text editor - Zuckerman uses BBEdit and I use Ecto. Both have functions like easy hyperlinking (select the text, press Apple + U and enter the address, rather than having to fiddle with code) and give you a backup of your text, should you lose your web connection.
- Keeping up: Zuckerman always posts within 15 minutes after the end of a conference session. (No pressure!) He says it is better to post an incomplete set of notes that to miss another speaker. I'm different - I'll pick the best speakers, and type up their sessions in a more rounded way during the next dull session, rather than type what every speaker says verbatim. You need some time to interpret speakers, even if it's just a short break, and learning what and where to edit is part of the whole experience. My system messes up when every session is good though. Zuckerman recommends using those fluffy conference moments to finish posts, like when they show the comedy video clips.
- Hard talks: Really good speakers develop a narrative and follow it. If you are having trouble keeping up, note the key starting point of each theme and the anecdotes from that theme.
- Use your commenters: You'll be forgiven for making mistakes, but use and acknowledge their information.
- Collaborate: He cites the blogger Hash, who used the Swahili word Harambee to describe everyone pitching in to cover one of the TED conferences. One does photos, some did interviews and others wrote summaries. Zuckerman says the idea is not to be the sole, authoritative voice at conferences - it's more fun to collaborate.
- Digest: Record ideas at the conference, but digest them later when you have time.
Have fun: It doesn't suit everyone - some people find it stressful or distracting. Especially if the blogger next to them is hammering away on a laptop... (My Heart's in Accra)
Sky's new web explorers
BSkyB has announced that it plans to appoint two web explorers to push innovation by flagging up new sites, services and technologies that Sky could use on its digital platforms. The official remit is to work with two Sky project managers to "discover online talent in the UK and worldwide", and to build relationships with content creators. Does anyone else know of similar roles at big media companies? I haven't heard of any and this sounds pretty jammy. But then it is based in Osterley, so every silver lining...
Reevoo reeevamps...
Product reviews site Reevoo.com has relaunched and expanded its site with various Web 2.0 shiny bits including a Google Maps mash-up and Yahoo Answers results about products. Reevoo asks consumers to post independent reviews of products from tech to toys, and then sells then to retailers' websites. Previously the site had sold its reviews directly to partner retailers. (E-consultancy)
Gratuitous web link of the day
You know that pretty thing you did with sparklers as a kid?
