While MySpace demonstrates symptoms of looming plateau, social networking remains a growth-friendly field. The original "place for friends" maintains a competitive advantage in the social networking scene by holding its ground; meanwhile, Facebook visits have leaped 126 percent in the last 12 months, reports MarketingCharts (via Hitwise).

Hitwise reports MySpace has kept an overwhelming piece of the social networking pie, with 79.7 percent of category visits in April 2007.

Facebook followed in second place with 11.47 percent of visits, and UK-based Bebo trailed behind with 1.28 percent.

From April '06 to '07 US visits to MySpace increased by 70 percent, a growth figure dwarfed by the progress made in the realms of competitors: Facebook at 126 percent more visits than last year, and Bebo up 184 percent.

A vivid contributor to Facebook's growth was its decision to shed .edu exclusivity in September 2006, opening registration to Internet users without a school affiliation. From September '06, onward, Facebook visits increased by 106 percent.

Approximately 24.9 percent of visits to the 19 other major social networking sites came directly from MySpace in April '07. In that period Facebook's influence on upstream traffic made 2.85 percent, an increase of 185 percent from September '06.