Alternative social networks fall from favor in 2011

Google this month released its annual Zeitgeist report tracking what the world was searching for in 2011. In addition to the winners, including Rebecca Black and Battlefield 3, Google also tracked the losers -- the fastest-falling search terms of 2011, headed by former star of social networking Myspace and with other alternative social networks falling not far behind.?

According to the Google Zeitgeist report, the social network Myspace, founded in 2003, was the fastest-falling search term of 2011 with searches for the site declining steadily from already depleted volume from January 2011.

The social networking site, once a darling of the internet, has seen a steady decline in fortune as Facebook has continued its meteoric rise to social networking dominance. The site now serves primarily as a platform for bands and was sold to Specific Media and Justin Timberlake on June 29 for around $35 million. It was originally acquired by News Corporation in 2005 for $580 million.

Social networking site Hi5 was also among this year's fastest-falling search terms, coming second to Myspace. Founded in 2003, Hi5 shares many features with other social networking sites, such as profile, photo sharing, etc.; however, Hi5 places a particular emphasis on being a social gaming platform.

Social networking platform Meebo also took a hammering, coming in third. Founded in 2005, Meebo is essentially a platform incorporating several instant messaging servers such as Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and QQ.

In fourth and fifth place were, respectively, social networks Nasza Klasa and Netlog. Nasza Klasa is a Polish social networking service aimed at students and alumni that currently has an estimated 13.5 million users. Netlog, which began life as Facebox and Bingbox, was founded in Belgium in 2003. The site allows each member to create a web page and enables members to conduct localized searches of the social network.

German social networking platforms Wer Kennt Wen and Meinvz were ranked seventh and eighth in this year's fastest fallers.

In comparison, Google's social network Google+, which opened to the public on August 6 this year, was the second fastest-rising search term of 2011.

In 2010 the fastest falling search term, according to the Google Zeitgeist report, was "Swine Flu."

The fastest falling search terms around the world in 2011 were, according to Google:

01.?? Myspace
02.?? Hi5
03.?? Mebo*
04.?? Nasza Klasa
05.?? Netlog
06.?? Baidu
07.?? Wer Kennt Wen
08.?? Meinvz
09.?? Hotmail correo (Hotmail accounts)
10.?? Delta Airlines?

*social network Meebo appears in the Google Zeitgeist report spelled "Mebo."

The fastest rising terms around the world in 2011 were, according to Google:

01.?? Rebecca Black
02.?? Google+
03.?? Ryan Dunn
04.?? Casey Anthony
05.?? Battlefield 3
06.?? iPhone 5
07.?? Adele
08.?? 東京 電力
09.?? Steve Jobs
10.?? iPad 2?

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