I realize a lot of folks will poke holes in the methodologies used by Comscore and its competitors. Still, a couple of interesting points from the company's latest release.
First — The Internet population in the U.S. hit 150 million in September. You are a member of this population, Comscore, says, if you used the Internet from any location at least once during the month.
Second — Check out Verisign's SiteFinder-assisted numbers . . .
From the Comscore press release (which has tables):
comScore Media Metrix
COMSCORE MEDIA METRIX ANNOUNCES TOP 50 U.S. INTERNET PROPERTY RANKINGS FOR SEPTEMBER 2003U.S. Internet Population Breaks the 150 Million Mark
RESTON, Va. October 21, 2003 – comScore Media Metrix today announced the top 50 U.S. Internet properties for the month of September 2003. comScore Media Metrix also reported that in September, the total number of U.S. Internet users passed the 150 million mark for the first time ever. Further, the total amount of time spent by Americans on the Internet grew by 3 percent in September, although the month of September is one day, or 3 percent, shorter than August. This increase in time spent online was driven almost entirely by the university population returning to campus and their computers ….
In September, there were three new entrants to the Top 50 Properties ranking. Verisign's launch of SiteFinder, which redirects mistyped URLs to its site, drove a sharp spike of 540 percent in unique visitors. This increase – the largest of any major property in September – pushed Verisign Sites from a rank of 135 in August to the number 11 position in September…