by Brian Womack
July 8, 2011
LinkedIn Corp., a website focused on job seekers and recruiters, surpassed Myspace to become the No. 2 social-networking service in the U.S. last month, boosted by its initial public offering in May.
The company had 33.9 million visitors in June, up 63 percent from a year earlier, while Myspace had 33.5 million, down 50 percent, according to a Reston, Virginia-based ComScore Inc. report. Facebook Inc. remained the largest social- networking site with 160.9 million U.S. visitors, up 14 percent.
LinkedIn’s IPO raised its profile with investors and helped build publicity around the Mountain View, California-based company. It has posted two straight months of gains, according to ComScore. To keep expanding its user base, LinkedIn is adding features such as a personalized news feed and a visual map that explores how users are connected.
Shares of LinkedIn rose $5.62, or 6 percent, to $99.60 today on the New York Stock Exchange, setting a new high. The May 18 IPO priced the shares at $45.
Twitter was No. 4 in the U.S., with 30.6 million users. That was up 14 percent from the previous month and a 31 percent increase from a year earlier, ComScore said.
Once the biggest social network, Myspace has lost ground to Facebook in recent years. Last month, News Corp. agreed to sell the business to Specific Media Inc. for $35 million, a fraction of the $580 million News Corp. paid six years ago.
