Bloggers' Top-Cited Wikipedia 2006 Entries:

Blog mentions of Wikipedia skyrocket 54 percent as the open-source encyclopedia continues its rise as a prolific information source

New York, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2006 - Did somebody say Wikipedia?  Yes, and then some, according to word-of-mouth measurement firm Nielsen BuzzMetrics, which identified Wikipedia - the online encyclopedia anyone can edit - as one of popular words and resources of 2006.

According to Nielsen BuzzMetrics, the term "Wikipedia" was cited in blogs nearly 29,000 times in November 2006, up 54% from 2005. In addition, the use of highly indicative phrases - "according to wikipedia" OR "wikipedia says" OR "says wikipedia" - rose 200 percent versus last year. According to Nielsen//NetRatings, another VNU research affiliate which tracks Web usage, Wikipedia's unique audience grew, concurrently, 112%, from 17.8 million in November 2005 to 37.8 million in November 2006.

The top three Wikipedia entries that bloggers linked to in 2006 were "Web 2.0", Steve Irwin (the late Australian animal lover, and the "Mark Foley Scandal".

"Despite occasional controversy over the accuracy or neutrality of its entries, Wikipedia continues to attract and retain a passionate user base while facilitating broader discussions across the Internet," said Jonathan Carson, chief executive officer, Nielsen BuzzMetrics.

Wikipedia Head to Head Versus Encyclopedia
Blog references to Wikipedia now eclipse virtually every other encyclopedia brand, and Wikipedia outranks mentions of the term "encyclopedia" by a 6-to-1 margin. Wikipedia today is mentioned 28% more than the standalone term "wiki."

“The growing frequency of the word "Wikipedia" versus "encyclopedia" also underscores the ubiquity and utility of the brand, not unlike other brands that often represent their categories, such as Xerox, Kleenex, Google and iPod,” said Carson.

Top Cited Wikipedia Entries
The top cited Wikipedia entries - from Jan. 1 through Dec. 10, 2006 - reflect the service’s heavy embracement by Internet, political and entertainment enthusiasts. Many of the top-cited entries also tend to reflect the most remembered pop-culture events and topics of 2006.

 

			Nielsen BuzzMetrics

                Top Wikipedia Entries By Author Citation

                       Jan. 1, 2006 - Dec. 10, 2006



Rank     Term                    URL                               Messages

                                                                    (Index)

1.   Web 2.0         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0               206

2.   Steve Irvin     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin           161

3.   Mark Foley

      Scandal        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Foley_scandal    142

4.   Blog            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog                  147

5.   Ajax            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX                  133

6.   World War II    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II          143

7.   Snakes on a

      Plane          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_on_a_plane     126

8.   Meme            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme                  132

9.   Wiki            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki                  129

10.  RSS             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28file_format%29 122

11.  Podcasting      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting            127

12.  George Bush     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush        129

13.  Podcast         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast               111

14.  Net Neutrality  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality    100

 

Top Blogs Citing Wikipedia
As for mentioning the term Wikipedia, certain bloggers demonstrate undeniable affinity with the site. Bloggers most likely to mention Wikipedia include popular and influential authors, as well as ad-supported blogs maintained by established niche-publishing networks.

Methodology
Nielsen BuzzRankings reached its conclusions after carefully analyzing buzz and consumer-generated media across more than 38 million blogs in 2006. The company applies machine-learning and natural-language processing techniques to discover real-time insights in the blogosphere, including buzz trends, conversation mapping, blogger profiles and search among other functions. The company hosts and offers as a to the entire online community a free blog-search and analytics tool, called BlogPulse (www.blogpulse.com).  

 

Press Contact: Sandra Parrelli; Sandra.Parrelli@nielsen.com; 646-654-7772

Sales Inquiries: sales@buzzmetrics.com; 1.877.999.7335

About Nielsen Online:

Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, delivers comprehensive, independent measurement and analysis of online audiences, advertising, video, consumer-generated media, word of mouth, commerce and consumer behavior, and includes products previously marketed under the Nielsen//NetRatings and Nielsen BuzzMetrics brands. With high quality, technology-driven products and services, Nielsen Online enables clients to make informed business decisions regarding their Internet, digital and marketing strategies. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-online.com.

About The Nielsen Company:

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

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