Comments for The Most Influential Websites in the World: Wikipedia #1, Twitter #4 With a Bullet

The Most Influential Websites in the World: Wikipedia #1, Twitter #4 With a Bullet

2009-11-25T04:10:40Z

A year ago we profiled an oddly-named service called ://URLFAN, which we concluded was a good 'Influence Index' for the Web. ://URLFAN ranks websites by popularity, based on blog mentions. Unlike analytics services like Alexa or Compete, ://URLFAN doesn't measure website traffic. It's similar to Technorati, only ://URLFAN ranks all websites and not just blogs.

We noted in our original review that ://URLFAN's ranking list will inevitably be biased towards users of social media - and in particular bloggers. That's a relatively small proportion of the world, however we think it's still a useful index because social media users are highly influential. With that in mind, which websites are currently ranked the most influential on the Web?

]]> ://URLFAN is, as we write this, "currently ranking the popularity of 3,783,534 websites by parsing 302,023,552 blog posts from 5,948,937 blog feeds."

The list below is ://URLFAN's all-time top 10. The number in brackets to the right of each item is last year's top 10 ranking (Nov '08).

#1. en.wikipedia.org (1)
#2. youtube.com (3)
#3. flickr.com (2)
#4. twitter.com (9)
#5. google.com (4)
#6. myspace.com (6)
#7. facebook.com (-)
#8. imdb.com (5)
#9. nytimes.com (7)
#10. apple.com (8)

There is one new entrant, Facebook at #7. washingtonpost.com moved out of the top 10, dropping from #10 last year to #12 this year.

Twitter is the biggest mover, up 5 places to #4.

Wikipedia is still the most cited website on the Web, for social media users and bloggers. YouTube and Flickr, two oft-used media sharing services, occupy the next two spots.

Last year we noted that there were 10 independent blogs in the top 100, including ReadWriteWeb. There are the same number this year, with a couple of new entrants. Here is the blog list circa November '09, again with last year's rank bracketed:

#23 techcrunch.com (#25)
#26 huffingtonpost.com (#32)
#33 engadget.com (#28)
#37 boingboing.net (#29)
#39 gizmodo (-)
#41 mashable.com (#91)
#53 arstechnica.com (#50)
#60 lifehacker.com (#63)
#78 readwriteweb.com (#97)
#93 smashing magazine (-)

Finally, what's new at ://URLFEED this year? You guessed it, a Real-Time Web feature! The site has introduced a Real-time Buzz Radar, which tracks buzzwords in the blogosphere. 'Chrome OS' is number 5 on the list currently, on the back of Google's Chrome OS event last week.

://URLFAN isn't a perfect measure of influence - you could easily argue that Google's PageRank is far better. However we continue to like the concept and we believe it's an accurate and up-to-date reflection of influential websites on the Web.

Comment from Sokobanja Apartmani on 2011-03-23

2011-03-23T11:36:04Z

Lifehacker is the best blog ever. Keep going

Comment from Zajecar on 2011-01-09

2011-01-09T20:56:26Z

Viki is a world encyclopedia, and by far the best

Comment from Vanessa Rodriguez on 2011-01-08

2011-01-09T00:55:58Z

can you guys comment and vote for my photo please >>> http://www.brickfish.com/Pages...

Comment from Sutomore on 2011-01-03

2011-01-04T01:41:59Z

rgdfg

Comment from Sutomore on 2011-01-03

2011-01-04T01:40:51Z

fb is the most influental website...

Comment from Sutomore on 2011-01-03

2011-01-04T01:37:50Z

facebook is the mos influental website in the world...

Comment from Banja Vrujci on 2010-12-23

2010-12-23T20:11:09Z

Ok, wikipedia is defenetly no1 but I am little surprised that google is number 5 and facebook is number 7

Vrujci

Comment from Branislav Grujic on 2010-12-23

2010-12-23T20:10:23Z

Ok, wikipedia is defenetly no1 but I am little surprised that google is number 5 and facebook is number 7

Comment from Electric Cigarette on 2010-12-05

2010-12-06T07:17:17Z

Wow its hardly anything to say Wikipedia is an awesome domain for getting lots of meanings for unknown words. But the year is going to end. And expecting a lot for next year results of top 10 websites which going to place first.

Comment from E cigarette on 2010-11-24

2010-11-24T09:37:24Z

Wow Wikipedia is really rocking. And its great thing to hear that facebook is in to 10 rankings. Wow simply a cool post. Nice post to share. Thanks for sharing the post Richard.

Comment from Banja Vrujci hoteli on 2010-11-20

2010-11-20T09:48:21Z

If you ask me google is no1 although here it is listed as no5, we may like it or not.

Comment from Sokobanja on 2010-11-18

2010-11-18T20:40:03Z

A blog is really good, I put it in your favorites, and as far as Wikipedia, they are the best:)

Comment from Soko Banja on 2010-11-04

2010-11-04T09:18:45Z

Love mashable.com

Comment from Vrdnik sobe on 2010-11-03

2010-11-03T16:49:52Z

Facebook is the most influental...

Comment from Sokobanja spa in Serbia on 2010-10-29

2010-10-29T14:11:05Z

Lots of good post, I've recorded and when should it be something I will look, in each case is excellent and thanks a lot ....

Comment from Linkovi on 2010-10-20

2010-10-20T10:24:17Z

I vote to facebook...

Comment from Novi Sad on 2010-10-08

2010-10-08T12:04:20Z

The most influental website in the world is FACEBOOK...

Comment from Banja Vrdnik Nekretnine on 2010-10-05

2010-10-05T12:18:46Z

yes, but little complicated to write....

Comment from Telemarketing on 2010-10-04

2010-10-05T00:08:27Z

Great list! On a business point of view, this will give you a good idea on which sites you should target when it comes to online marketing. Imagine how many potential leads you can get if you are successful?

Comment from Telemarketing Companies on 2010-09-29

2010-09-30T05:32:55Z

Techcrunch is a leading blog, which goes to show that people nowadays are always looking for information about new technology, gadgets and systems. Nice list!

Comment from Banja Vrdnik privatni smeštaj apartmani on 2010-09-29

2010-09-29T10:43:07Z

Wikipedia is a good book...

Comment from Sokobanja on 2010-09-29

2010-09-29T09:01:29Z

My vote go to Wikipedia

Comment from secretsnpleasures.com on 2010-09-28

2010-09-28T23:58:27Z

WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU KEEP THE SPICE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP,LETS MAKE DIVORCE A THING OF THE PASSED!
SECRETSNPLEASURES.COM

Comment from Banja Vrdnik smeštaj apartmani sobe on 2010-09-28

2010-09-28T19:57:25Z

My friend Voja didn't write on this blog long time ago...

Comment from Privatni smeštaj apartmani u Banji Vrdnik on 2010-09-27

2010-09-28T00:04:07Z

I LIKE THIS BLOG...

Comment from Telemarketing Services on 2010-09-21

2010-09-22T06:01:49Z

I'm surprised MySpace is still one notch more popular than Facebook, and Wikipedia higher than Google. Isn't it that when you look for information from Wiki, you get it by Googling? Do you really go directly to Wikipedia.org to do a search?

Comment from Discount hearing aids on 2010-09-17

2010-09-17T17:29:01Z

I think Twitter has hit the wall.
Most people are starting to see twitter with less "shine" as they did even a year ago.
The internet is a fickle place.

Dr.c

Comment from Real Estate Hanoi on 2010-09-16

2010-09-17T03:25:48Z

Everyone is using Wikipedia now for online research. It has been shown to be as correct as the Encyclopedia Britannica! Funny isn’t it, people wonder how to get more online exposure and don’t realise that so many of the top websites in the world are user generated content that you can add yourself to easily.

Jaiden

Comment from KPO on 2010-09-16

2010-09-17T03:19:01Z

Cool list, really amazing find and the start up stories -they all started with a dream, an idea that soon got big.
I visit a few of them on a daily basis as well. Part of the statistics. Lol -Charlie

Comment from Fake Doctor note on 2010-09-09

2010-09-09T21:25:46Z

Twitter is on it's way out.
Wikipedia is the one of the best websites of all time and should be around for years to come.

Comment from w2 template on 2010-09-09

2010-09-09T21:23:13Z

I think Twitter will overtake them by mid 2010 then start to all off a bit as people start to get tired of twitter.

Comment from Nekretnine Beograd on 2010-09-05

2010-09-05T11:36:04Z

Wikimedia, Twitter, facebook, everything is nice and helpful, but it is by far the best internet Wikimedia encyclopedia of which there is no flat.

Comment from VRDNIK NEKRETNINE on 2010-08-25

2010-08-25T17:49:03Z

Wikipedia is the best...

Comment from Edwin Ortega Bu on 2010-08-21

2010-08-21T08:39:40Z

Great list, maybe twitter in a short time will be at #1 no doubt.

Comment from Edwin Ortega Bu on 2010-08-21

2010-08-21T08:38:03Z

Great list, maybe twitter in a short time will be at #1 no doubt.

Comment from Sokobanja on 2010-08-02

2010-08-02T11:58:11Z

Great list we have here. Despite all the differences with ://URLFAN rank, is a good way to see who is on top.

Comment from Banja Vrdnik on 2010-07-28

2010-07-28T21:44:25Z

wikipedia definitely can not live without Google, and it is fundamental difference ... wikipedia is a closed system, and that it is the basic flaw ...
big but...
great but ... google does not recognize the important and unimportant ... and it caused a problem ...

Comment from e-cigs-reviews on 2010-07-23

2010-07-23T23:12:16Z

As there is no BBC and the wikipedia is only the "en" version I assume this is only american traffic and not the world. I know to most americans america is the world but I mean the world literally :)

Comment from Banje Srbije on 2010-07-13

2010-07-13T21:17:50Z

What can I say, Wikimedia is something other than google, but I think the inability to set the Twitter button for google...

Comment from Sokobanja on 2010-07-03

2010-07-04T06:20:40Z

Me personally much prefer URLFAN but Alec and I can tell you that you may already popular, but as one said before me anywhere I do not see CNN or BBC

Comment from Red Cross First Aid on 2010-06-21

2010-06-21T23:29:44Z

I can not understand why Twitter would be higher than Google.

Is this really possible?

Comment from NFL NHL MLB NBA Jerseys on 2010-03-04

2010-03-05T01:29:11Z

No question on the Wikipedia and Youtube but I want to ask for those personal blogs mentioned

Comment from Nic Windley on 2010-02-01

2010-02-01T10:12:38Z

blog mentions is certainly an interesting way of demonstrating which sites are the most socially influential

Comment from Lucy on 2009-12-18

2009-12-18T11:01:15Z

The 'en.' in front of Wikipeia isn't a typing error Evan Jacobson, it's the actual url. We just automatically assume the website is 'wikipedia.org', but when we type it in it automatically redirects us to 'en.wikipedia.org'.

Comment from Mikes Sumondong on 2009-12-16

2009-12-17T02:02:03Z

No question on the Wikipedia and Youtube but I want to ask for those personal blogs mentioned, problogger and perezhilton are nowhere to be found. what's happening?

Comment from Electronic Cigarette on 2009-12-05

2009-12-05T09:01:26Z

Electronic cigarette, or also known as e-cig or an e-cigarette, is the world's smallest form of a vaporizer. Unlike herbal vaporizers, the electronic cigarette is designed to vaporize glycerin-based liquids such as propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. The electronic cigarette consists of 3 parts; rechargeable battery, atomizer, and a cartridge. When a user inhales on an electronic cigarette, the movement of air is detected by a micro sensor which activates the heating element, also known as the atomizer. The atomizer heats up the cartridge containing liquid, which turns into vapor.

Comment from Joy Ann Gallucci on 2009-12-04

2009-12-04T15:22:35Z

The list doesn't surprise me at all. I wonder how this list would break down demographically as well as M/F and age. Myspace would most likely drop off the list entirely if this was based on age.

Comment from musi on 2009-12-02

2009-12-03T01:38:33Z

Where r amazon, ebay, yahoo, msn?

Comment from Micah Herstand on 2009-12-02

2009-12-02T11:36:11Z

How does ://URLFAN deal with url shorteners? bit.ly comes in at #27 (which it probably deserves), but if they don't lookup the redirected URL, they would be missing out on basically every Twitter link - a huge shortcoming if they're trying to rate influence.

Comment from electronic cigarette on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T01:42:01Z

The monetary easing, with low interest rates and with quantitative easing in Britain and America – these have been the most important thing in giving the world economy a boost.

Comment from weight loss on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T01:22:08Z

The monetary easing, with low interest rates and with quantitative easing in Britain and America – these have been the most important thing in giving the world economy a boost.

Comment from ed hardy shirt on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T01:19:02Z

There is five trillions of fiscal stimulus in the world economy – either had or about to have – and that is what is bringing the economy up. The monetary easing, with low interest rates and with quantitative easing in Britain and America – these have been the most important thing in giving the world economy a boost.

Comment from Bery on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T16:40:03Z

They forgot 4Chan.org. As the originator of most of the Internet's entertaining memes, it should be in the top 10.

Comment from Tinh on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T08:22:55Z

Why NYtimes is not on the list, I am really surprised about this

Comment from global blogalizing on 2009-11-28

2009-11-29T00:43:21Z

Nowhere at the URLFan page it says that this is "world's" top list. They just say that the list shows the most mentioned sites -- but, again, it does not say that it is the "world's" most influential ones.
I think the title of this article is, at the very least, misleading... how on earth (not a joke) could anyone believe the a top 100 list of the most influential sites in the "world" would include sfgate.com????

Comment from Steve Eberhardt on 2009-11-28

2009-11-28T23:11:15Z

It isn't surprising to see such revolutionary sites in the top ten.

Comment from Вуле on 2009-11-28

2009-11-28T13:22:50Z

Great list we have here. Maybe next step will be influence measuring of localized sites?

Comment from tom on 2009-11-27

2009-11-27T18:51:08Z

What the heck is NYTimes doing on the top ten? No way.

Comment from Katherine on 2009-11-26

2009-11-26T08:27:28Z

There's just the small matter that it treats all subdomains (like Blogger blogs with blogspot addresses) as being literally all linked to the same domain and therefore not counting as links!

Thus any "independent" blog (such as mine) with a blogspot URL only gets rated according to links in from sites which are NOT blogspot URLs.

How do I know this? Well as my blog gets a lot of mentions on other people's blogs so I checked to see what my rating was. It looked low and I looked more closely at the links and lo and behold the only links coming up were those on NON-blogspot domains.

So it's only a measure of the extent to which primary domains link to one another. In no way can it be said to be a measure of the extent to which REAL INDIVIDUALS link to a site

You did spot that didn't you? ;)

Comment from Stefan Nikolaev on 2009-11-26

2009-11-26T08:19:46Z

Despite all the differences with ://URLFAN rank, is a good way to see who is on top. Thanks!

Comment from Andy Mabbett on 2009-11-25

2009-11-26T01:43:56Z

Is Twitter a website, in any meaningful sense? Isn't it just an http-based instant-messaging server?

Comment from Enrique on 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T20:37:57Z

Apple website number 10? Something is wrong with this ranking. The company may be influential in the tech market, but its site on the whole Internet... I guess I'm gonna pay attention to other rankings.

Comment from Tim Murphy on 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T19:28:16Z

We interviewed Sue Gardner of Wikipedia and it's no wonder that they're recognized as the game-changer they've been named.
http://www.keynote.com/benchmark/new_media/article_interview_largest-encyclopedia.shtml

Comment from Richard MacManus on 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T19:18:04Z

Flickr would be so high because it's used by many bloggers to post photos. We use at RWW a lot and the attribution always links back to Flickr.

Comment from Learn Creative Visualization on 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T17:01:14Z

Questionable list. How could flickr.com be influential. People read and rate pictures? What about BBC? what about CNN? This list must be either redone, or review. Even Alexa is more accurate than that.

Comment from Patrick Murphy on 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T16:07:31Z

Hi,

are you sure that these are the world? If that is right the nytimes is the only main news media web site that people look at?

Cheers

Patrick

Comment from dj adelaide on 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T13:15:05Z

wow, i'm surprised that google is number 5 but i suppose it makes sense because people don't normally reference google like they do with twitter, i.e. you can install a retweet button on your blog but there is no equivalent with google

Comment from Timo Luege on 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T12:48:16Z

I'm surprised to NOT see CNN or the BBC on this list at all. Surely they are influential.

Comment from Jake on 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T09:10:06Z

I assume the results are only of English-language sites?

Comment from A Mitchell on 2009-11-24

2009-11-25T06:46:46Z

Good use of the Frank Zappa reference to add emphasis.

Comment from Evan Jacobson on 2009-11-24

2009-11-25T06:25:23Z

I note that the domain for Wikipedia starts with "en". Is that a typing error?

If not, it appears that Wikipedia has a very comfortable lead. How often do non-English Wikipedia pages appear in data collected?