Thursday, February 26, 2004

The Way the Web Was A comparison of Web statistics from 1996 and 2004 shows not only the growth in Internet use, but the amount of consolidation in media ownership, including Time Warner's ownership of top sites from 1996, including AOL.com, Netscape.com, Compuserve.com and Pathfinder.com. The comparison study was by what began as Internet marketing number-cruncher Media Metrix, itself absorbed into a new company, comScore, a few years ago. "In the eight years since the Media Metrix service began tracking Internet use, the Web has grown from a novelty used by a minority of techno-savvy users to a mainstream medium used by the majority of the U.S. population," said Peter Daboll, president and CEO of comScore Media Metrix. "Comparing this month's ranking to that of January 1996 provides the numbers behind the fascinating story of how the Internet evolved to become an integral part of mainstream American life." According to comScore, the top three sites of the mid-nineties each reached some 4 to 6 million people (30 to 40 percent of total online users), while the "top three properties" of today[base ']s Internet are massive networks owned by Yahoo!, Microsoft and Time Warner, each reaching more than 70 percent of Internet users at 100 million people each month. For more numbers and food for thought, see comScore's press release at its own site. 11:50:11 AM    comment []

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