India’s Social Networking Market Sees Global Brands Gain Prominence in 2008
Orkut Ranks as the Most Visited Social Networking Site in India, Followed by Facebook
RESTON, VA – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released a report on the top social networking sites in India, finding that visitation to the site category increased 51 percent from the previous year to more than 19 million visitors in December 2008. The study also found that global social networking brands continued to gain prominence in India during the year, with Orkut, Facebook, hi5, LinkedIn and MySpace each witnessing significant increases in visitation.
“Social networking continued to grow strongly in India this past year, with several of the top global brands carving out a more prominent position,” said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice president. “While there is certainly room for several players in the social networking space in India, the sites that have the right blend of having both a strong brand and cultural relevance will be best positioned for future growth.”
Orkut Tops List of Social Networking Sites in India
Orkut reigned as the most visited social networking site in December 2008 with more than 12.8 million visitors, an increase of 81 percent from the previous year. Orkut’s audience was three times the size of its nearest competitor in the category. Facebook.com captured the #2 position with 4 million visitors, up 150 percent versus year ago, followed by local social networking site Bharatstudent.com with 3.3 million visitors (up 88 percent) and hi5.com with 2 million visitors (up 182 percent).
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Top Social Networking Sites in India by Unique Visitors
December 2008 vs. December 2007
Total India – Age 15+, Home/Work Locations*
Source: comScore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Dec-07 Dec-08 % Change
Total Internet: Total Audience 26,240 32,099 22
Social Networking 12,795 19,369 51
Orkut 7,123 12,869 81
Facebook.com 1,619 4,044 150
Bharatstudent.com 1,736 3,269 88
hi5.com 714 2,012 182
ibibo.Com 1,970 990 -50
MySpace Sites 352 741 110
LinkedIn.com 293 513 75
PerfSpot.com 2,106 433 -79
BIGADDA.com 515 385 -25
Fropper.com 256 248 -3
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*Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes and access from mobile phones or PDAs.
In Asia-Pacific Region, Social Networking Shines in Singapore
An overview of social networking activity in the Asia-Pacific region revealed that many of the countries with the highest reach in social networking also exhibited the highest level of site engagement. Singapore led the region in terms of penetration, with more than 74 percent of its online population visiting a social networking site in December 2008. Social networking visitors in Singapore also posted the most visits per visitor to the category with an average of 19 during the month.
Other countries in the region that displayed strong social networking penetration and engagement included Australia, South Korea and Malaysia. Despite the strong growth in India during the past year, it showed below average penetration and engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Asia-Pacific Social Networking Overview
December 2008
Total Asia-Pacific – Age 15+, Home/Work Locations*
Source: comScore World Metrix
Social Networking
% Reach Average Minutes Average Visits
per Visitor per Visitor
Asia Pacific** 60.6 137.0 11.4
Singapore 74.3 175.6 19.1
Australia 68.3 224.3 17.8
South Korea 68.0 277.8 15.1
Malaysia 66.6 181.2 14.2
Hong Kong 62.8 127.7 13.7
New Zealand 62.8 185.7 13.8
India 60.3 110.4 10.4
Japan 50.9 72.8 9.9
China 45.6 89.5 7.4
Taiwan 42.4 36.1 5.1
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*Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
**Improvements to Internet population estimates in certain countries have recently been made. We caution against trending with data prior to July 2008.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com
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