RESTON, VA, June 13, 2007 – comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the launch of comScore Widget Metrix, a new service to track the usage of widgets across the Web.  comScore currently tracks Web widgets, which are data files that can be embedded into a site’s HTML code and are typically displayed in a small viewing pane on the site.  They are most often used to display customized or personalized content on a Web site, such as to share photos or music recommendations, and are commonly found on blogs, social networking sites and other personalized pages. 

“The recent explosion of user-generated content has helped create a worldwide marketplace for widgets,” said Linda Boland Abraham, executive vice president at comScore.  “comScore is excited to be providing measurement for this developing content medium.”

“Third-party audience measurement is critical to the emerging widget economy,” said Hooman Radfar, founder of widget delivery platform Clearspring.  “Measuring and understanding the widget universe is an important first step in enabling publishers and advertisers to fully realize the benefits of the burgeoning distributed Web. As one of the leading widget platforms, we look forward to working with comScore to help drive widget measurement going forward.”

Slide Widgets Reach Largest Worldwide Audience

comScore’s analysis of the top ten Web widgets worldwide revealed that photo-related widgets dominate the top positions.  In April 2007, Slide was the top widget provider with a worldwide reach of more than 117 million unique viewers, or 13.8 percent of the total worldwide Internet audience.  Other top photo-related widgets included RockYou (82 million viewers), PictureTrail (31 million viewers), and Photobucket (28 million viewers).  It should also be noted that Facebook.com’s recent announcement that it was opening doors to third-party widget developers will likely have a significant impact in shaping the widget landscape over the coming months.

Top Web Widgets Worldwide April 2007 Source: comScore Widget Metrix
Widget	Unique Viewers (000)	Percent of Worldwide Online Audience
All Widgets	177,777	21.0%
Slide	117,072	13.8%
RockYou	82,045	9.7%
PictureTrail	30,647	3.6%
Photobucket	28,189	3.3%
BunnyHeroLabs	24,984	3.0%
BlingyBlob	21,614	2.6%
Poqbum	18,697	2.2%
Brightcove	16,866	2.0%
Layoutstar	15,348	1.8%
Musicplaylist.us	15,089	1.8%

“We are excited to see comScore’s report, which validates the enormous reach of the widget economy,” said Max Levchin, founder and CEO of Slide. “This report will help to demonstrate the importance of widgets to advertisers and publishers.”

Widget Penetration Highest in North America

As more and more sites across the Internet employ Web widgets, the worldwide penetration will continue to grow.  In April, widget penetration was highest in North America where 40.3 percent of Internet users visited a Web site with an embedded widget, followed by Western Europe (24.3 percent) and Latin America (17.5 percent).

Web Widget Internet Audience Penetration by Worldwide Region April 2007 Source: comScore Widget Metrix
Region	Unique Viewers (000)	Widget Penetration* by Region
Worldwide	177,777	21.0%
North America	81,011	40.3%
Western Europe	43,792	24.3%
Asia Pacific	33,514	10.9%
Latin America	10,074	17.5%
Middle East-Africa	4,805	12.6%
Eastern Europe	4,581	7.6%

* Penetration = Number of unique widget viewers /number of total Internet users for that region

Widget Definitions

The current universe of widgets is defined as embedded flash (.swf) objects. The comScore Widget Metrix service will evolve in its tracking of widget file types as the market dynamics and content delivery systems change.  The report currently focuses on the individual widgets, and not the platforms that deliver them.  Desktop widgets are also not included.

For more information on comScore Widget Metrix, please visit http://www.comscore.com/about/info_req.asp

About comScore

comScore, Inc. is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given comScore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes.  comScore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI.  comScore services are used by more than 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Starcom USA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Expedia.  For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Contact:
Andrew Lipsman
Senior Analyst
comScore, Inc.
312-775-6510
press@comscore.com