Dismal Outlook for Many Hip Hop Social Networks

After writing about Global Grind's performance, I decided to check in on some of the other hip hop social networks that have gotten a lot of press and found that Global Grind's looking better than some.

Compete Analytics:
globalgrind.com
streetcred.com
blocksavvy.com
loud.com
xxlblocktalk.com

By contrast thisis50.com seems to be doing well.

It's quite likely that celebrity sites will continue to do much better than celebrity endorsed sites since celebrity sites tend to be much more focused and draw folks together with interests that are more specific than a generic hip hop theme.

I think that ultimately goes beyond just being fans but focusing on one's actual fan base is a very solid way to start.

Additional Relevant Sites:
wemix.com
dancejam.com
crackspace.com

The Real Contenders:
rawkus.com
similar stats as thisis50.com.  (that's partly blog power!  note: thisis50.com is also fronted by a blog.)

Thanks for suggestions:
David ~ YSL ~ Ian

Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Hip Hop Social Networks: Goldmic, Hip Hop Blips, Suggestions?

Comments

[David]

Although, check out the traffic on Rawkus "Network" compared to Thisis50. Surprisingly close stats, considering the size of the target audiences...

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/thisis50.com+rawkus.com/?metric=uv

[Clyde Smith]

I left Rawkus out because it seems to be more of a blog network with a related social network than a social network per se.

So the dynamic of the traffic is very different.

But, since I mentioned Loud.com which is also somewhat of a hybrid, Rawkus is definitely worth considering cause they are doing very well.

There are others too but I was really surprised to see how many social networks launched with great fanfare were doing so poorly.

[Yeti]

This is pretty insightful. There is always a big PR push when a site launches and then they tend to fade out with little awareness they are gone. Is compete.com one of the more accurate sites? I have never used em before. How are they vs. alexa?

[Clyde Smith]

I think Compete is stronger than Alexa but I know Alexa's also been upgrading and I haven't really evaluated that.

I would say Compete is most useful for comparison within a related group of sites rather than for absolute numbers.

I find it follows the ups and downs of my sites pretty accurately.

[greasyguide]

Being a Hip-Hop social network just isn't enough when there not that many people on those sites to keep it going or keep it interesting.

Many of these sites are no more then a myspace clone and why go to the clone when you can go to the real deal with over 200mil plus users.

I think we will see many of these sites fall off or merge into each other in order to survive. But in this day and age what does belonging to another social network really do for you?

[ian]

What about Crackspace.com? The SN created by Chuck @ Babygrande.com.

[Vassili]

Add Goldmic to the list of hh social networks.
http://quantcast.com/goldmic.com