Getting a recount on MySpace users

Just how popular is MySpace?

The social networking site is clearly trendy among the teenage set. But can it really claim 100 million active accounts, a figure that has been bandied about? At least one blogger disagrees.

A post on the ForeverGeek site analyzed a random sample of 303 accounts, and found that only 42 percent had logged into their accounts within the past month.

"It turns out that MySpace really has roughly 43,000,000 users. Very unscientific? Yep. More accurate than the 100,000,000 myth? Damn straight. The 100,000,000 number is inflated by 133 (percent)," the author wrote.

By comparison, Facebook says it has 9.5 million registered users, while Friendster claims more than 31 million members. But Wall Street doesn't seem to care much about user accounts; a research report issued this week pegged MySpace's value at $15 billion within three years.

Blog community response:

"Now, 43 million registered users is still impressive and it gives MySpace a lot of economic potential as advertisers pursue the ever-elusive youth demographic. I would add to forevergeek's skepticism that young people are fickle and exhibit little brand loyalty. MySpace and Facebook may be hot today but they could be Friendster tomorrow."
--Mark Evans

"User counts, just like page counts, get inflated as companies fight for the PR limelight. Let's take a look at some of the worst offenders."
--ValleyWag

"To stop this crap about visit figures, a change of mentality is required. For instance, why not discuss revenue and profit instead? Can the likes of Photobucket, Netvibes, Myspace, and even Hotmail, please disclose the money they make, and the profit?"
--Weblog personnel