YouTube reclaims UK social media crown

YouTubeYouTube has again become the UK’s most popular social media site, overtaking rival Wikipedia. MySpace has dropped from third to fifth place, recording a 9% dip in users, according to Nielsen Online.

The research company recorded 10.4 million users of Google-owned YouTube in January, an increase of 56% from the same period last year. Wikipedia users for the month totalled 9.6 million, a rise of 23% from January 2007 but not enough to prevent YouTube overtaking the user-generated encyclopedia.

Ranked third, and with the highest recorded year-on-year rise of 712%, was Facebook. Teen site Bebo came sixth with a 53% increase. However, ITV-owned Friends Reunited dropped out of the top ten to 16th.

Nielsen Online internet analyst, Alex Burmaster says: “Whilst the majority of the most popular social media sites are the networks, most of the fastest growing are video sites, which points to video being the biggest star of the 2008 social media scene.”

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