Despite only having been out of invitation-only alpha for a little over two months, the social news service Social Median has quickly gained a foothold among early adopters looking to get the latest on topics as diverse as technology news to the financial crisis and the 2008 presidential election. Though still small, the site saw traffic increase more than 90 percent from July to August, according to Compete.com, and is finding a niche, alongside other services, including Twitter, FriendFeed and Strands, for early adopters to find and share information.
Social Median's Numbers are Small, But Climbing
Founder Jason Goldberg, in an effort to learn more about the site's first users, sent an e-mail survey on September 30th to registered members, asking them what services they used on a daily basis, which Web sites they relied on for news, and, of course, which features would be most desired for later iterations to the product.
Twitter Is By Far the Most Popular Service by Social Median Users
With nearly 500 respondents, it's clear that those using the site are much more likely than the general population to own an iPhone, and more than four out of five are daily Twitter users. But the data did show, as could be expected, that Social Median users are more than seven times as likely to use Facebook as MySpace. Approximately half post to their blog each day, and use FriendFeed.
Social Median, unsurprisingly, fared well in its own survey, with 57% saying they use the site more than once a day, and just under 65% saying they visit it "regularly".
TechCrunch and the New York Times Follow Social Median In Use
Ranking just behind Social Median for news gathering was TechCrunch, with 52% of all users voting in the affirmative, and approximately 40% apiece selecting Digg, the New York Times and CNN. Others trailed further behind.
Interestingly, despite only 23 percent of Social Median's users saying they used an iPhone regularly, more than 28 percent said a dedicated iPhone application was a top priority. This, however, didn't rank as the top response, trailing the addition of likes for stories, news alerts, improved search, blog widgets and private news networks. Social Median may have already gained a significant role in the lives of those who responded to the survey, but they continue to have high expectations for the site - which just might not be undeserved. Goldberg told me by e-mail that the #1 request, the ability to "like" or "dislike" an item would go live as soon as Monday, bringing them even further into FriendFeed's neighborhood.
You can always find me on Social Median here: http://www.socialmedian.com/louisgray