YouTube Tops 2010’s Most Buzzed-About Social Network List

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YouTube has come out on top in a ranking of 2010’s most buzzed-about websites and social media services.

This year was the year of video- and photo-sharing; 2010 saw the rise — in volume and positive mentions — of YouTube and Flickr and the fall of some of the first social networking sites.

The Zeta 2010 Buzz Awards measures the mentions of 125 of the top social media sites to determine not just popularity but how people feel about those sites, too.

“We held a mirror up to the social media world and try to get an understanding of what people are saying about the various social networking sites,” said Al DiGuido, CEO of Zeta Interactive, a digital marketing agency in New York City.

People seem to be saying good things about YouTube() and Flickr(). The blogosphere spoke positively about YouTube 91% of the time and about Flickr 98% of the time. Those positive mentions, along with the sites’ volume of mentions, landed them in the top two spots on the list.

“Flickr was very, very strong in terms of volume ranking but even stronger in terms of tone. That’s the highest number we’ve ever seen in terms of positive ranking in this category,” DiGuido said.


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Craigslist, Friendster, MySpace Drop From the Top 10

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Some of the first sites for networking online have fallen from the most buzzed-about list. Craigslist(), which was ranked fifth in 2009, and Friendster() and MySpace(), at the ninth and tenth spots respectively last year, didn’t make this year’s cut.

“If you look year over year, sites that have had problems with security, like Craigslist, Friendster and Myspace, these sites have kind of all dropped off from 2009. It shows the rising stars in terms of social networking sites and those that are on the wane… in the number of people at least speaking about them,” DiGuido said. “If you’ve got issues with security and privacy, you’ll deal with it pretty directly with how people are talking about it. People want to feel their information being exchanged is secure. Big mistakes will be aired in the marketplace.”

Although Facebook() still made its way onto the list, security concerns dominated the buzz about the world’s largest social networking site. “Security,” as well as “information” and “safety,” were some of the words most often used in association with Facebook, which ranks sixth on the list.

Facebook’s mentions were just 68% positive.


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Groupon, StumbleUpon, Google Buzz Make the Cut

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Newcomers to the list include Groupon, StumbleUpon and Google Buzz().

It’s been said before that 2010 has also been the year of the daily deals, and Zeta’s data seems to support that statement.

“Groupon’s coming on real strong,” DiGuido said. “We’ve been watching a lot of different verticals, brands, commercials in the last couple years, and this year is the year that deals — sites focused on deals, value, saving money — are going incredibly strong. Groupon has totally captured the social networking world.”

Google Buzz() rounded out the list at the number-ten spot, but it had the second lowest tonal rating with just 68% positive.

Newbie StumbleUpon(), on the other hand, had a whopping 94% positive mentions. Words most often used in association with the site include “advice,” “recommend,” “web/site,” “new,” and “original.”

Here’s the complete list of this year’s top 10 most buzzed about sites. Were you surprised by any of the findings? What changes do you predict for 2011? Share your thoughts in the comments.