Study: Drudge Report Is ‘Far More Significant’ Than Twitter in Driving Online News Traffic
- Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:11am by
Scott Baker
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook is influencing what news gets read online as people use the Internet’s most popular hangout to share and recommend content.
That‘s one of the key findings from a study on the flow of traffic to the Web’s 25 largest news destinations. The study was released Monday by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Facebook was responsible for 3 percent of traffic to the 21 news sites that allowed data to be tracked, according to the study’s co-author, Amy Mitchell. Five of the sites studied got 6 percent to 8 percent of their readers from Facebook.
The referrals typically came from links posted by friends on Facebook’s social-networking site or from the ubiquitous “like” buttons, which Facebook encourages other websites to place alongside their content.
The Facebook effect is small compared with Google’s clout. Google Inc.’s dominant search engine supplies about 30 percent of traffic to the top news sites, according to Pew.
But Facebook and other sharing tools, such as Addthis.com, are empowering people to rely on their online social circles to point out interesting content. By contrast, Google uses an automated formula to help people find news.
Facebook is at the forefront of this shift because it has more than 500 million worldwide users. That’s far more than any other Internet service built for socializing and sharing.
“If searching for the news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing the news may be among the most important of the next,” the Pew report said.
Meanwhile, major news sites are getting less than 1 percent of their traffic from Twitter, even though it had about 175 million accounts last year.
Among those studied by Pew, only the Los Angeles Times’ website got more traffic from Twitter than Facebook. Twitter accounted for 3.5 percent of the online traffic to the Los Angeles Times, compared with slightly more than 2 percent from Facebook.
The Drudge Report, a site started during the 1990s, is a far more significant traffic source for news sites than Twitter, according to the Pew study.
The Pew report is based on an analysis of Internet traffic data compiled by the research firm Nielsen Co. during the first nine months of last year.
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Comments (78)
angelcat
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 8:31amJredorangew, I tried the site and you are correct. It IS excellent with many sources and articles to choose from. My only problem with it is that it is difficult to read the headlines at a glance if I just want to quickly view what is new. And, for someone with eyesight like mine, the print is a bit small.
Report Post »ares338
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 8:06amI don’t bring up political topics online. One of my sons and his wife are raving democrats. If my friends want to drop me for having conservative views..well…Frick um!
Report Post »psst
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 8:05amDrudge superior over FB and Twit for news/politics?
Report Post »Oh!! thanks, I never knew that before.
338lapua
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:28amreported
Report Post »stereojoe
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:23amI’ve been using the Drudge Report for years and years. I just turned the ripe old age of 30 and have found the Drudge Report to be incredibly valuable in getting the direct, important news without having to wade through the garbage.
Matt Drudge has kept his site the same since it’s inception. It is truly user friendly; anyone can go to the site and use it. What other website can say that? Good work and keep it up, Matt!
Report Post »GadsdenGurl
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:21amThe Drudge Report is ‘passé‘ because it’s just a collection of links, the webmaster doesn‘t even know how to make them open in a new window and it’s not anything you can’t find by simply searching yourself for key words. No one visits Drudge anymore.
Report Post »Lone Ranger
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:17amTwitter is an excellent source for people who gather and report the news. Our reporter in Japan was able to literally live-blog as he covered the Japan disasters. Facebook? Wish I’d had it when I was deployed (half my marriage).
Report Post »freedomweiner
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:07amGimme some drudge !
Lucianne.com is great as well for top stories (great comments), and breaking stories from around the web.
Report Post »dizzyinthedark
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:04amMay I also add to this the other one I like to go to is Atlas Shrugs
Report Post »AmeriCat
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 6:46amLove Drudge. Accurate, timely, and clearly drives the news.
Would NEVER use Facebook….too much baggage.
Love all the Breitbarts: Breitbart TV, Big Journalism, Government, Hollywood, Peace.
Daily Caller by Tucker Carlson is also excellent,
As is The Right Scoop and Trevor Loudin (previously New Zeal).
It is fun to watch The Blaze evolving…so far, so good.
It definitely has a flavor all it’s own,
sometimes clearly reflecting (choice of topics, captions)
the two recently acquired “main” editors…each from “different” venues.
The Blaze is still maturing, has something for everyone,
Report Post »and depending on the topic, can even be fun.
stinkybisquit
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 6:17amThis Pew report based on Nielson research also shows how people can can become important by making USELESS REPORTS BASED ON UNNECESSARY RESEARCH.
Report Post »AmeriCat
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 6:51amI love your comment….soooo true about probably the majority of “research” today!
Report Post »smak
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 4:34amreported
Report Post »copatriots
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 4:22amreported
Report Post »ginpa
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 4:19amLike Drudge. Can not stand their auto-refresh mode.
Report Post »AmeriCat
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 6:48amLove the auto-refresh mode. It serves as a screen saver.
Report Post »smak
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 4:10am@I like it and if you wanna know whats going on first, no better site than Drudge. No offense Blaze but for me, I log on to Drudge first then The Blaze.
Report Post »~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blaze isn’t much for news. There was about 10 new stories today, I think most people come here for the comments.
smak
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:33am@Zuckerburg (or whatever his name is) has given Obama access to half a million accounts for his political campaign.
Report Post »~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please cite a news link for this.
QuietRiot
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:17amIT S A DAM SHAME THEY DONT UPDATE ENOUGH OR HAVE A second page.
Report Post »smak
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:10am@The Drudge Report, a site started during the 1990s, is a far more significant traffic source for news sites than Twitter, according to the Pew study.
That‘s because Twitter isn’t a news aggregator web site.
Report Post »Ron_WA
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:08amDrudge is the bomb. By far the best news aggregatation site. A lot of us in the intel community use it as an early warning type of site – almost all breaking news shows up there & it normally gives us various places to look for additional leads. Don’t get me wrong we don’t use Drudge for actual intel but it helps us focus collection efforts on breaking issues that randomly pop up.
Report Post »thinkinghuman
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:38amFacebook is NOT the medium for sharing anything other than feel good stuff with all your “friends” because usually they actually know who you are. You are going to behave differently there than you do here, where I couldn’t care less what you may think about me, because we don’t know each other. That’s why we seek out sites to get news, and don’t look to Facebook, because it will not be there.
Report Post »GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:33amShowtime
Report Post »Do you ever sleep?
Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:06amWhen I do get to sleep, I sleep deep. No daytime naps. (Ever!)
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:10amSometime when you can’t find anything to watch on TV, watch The Obama Deception. Don’t put it on FaceBook though, because they will shut your account down.
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw
It’s a movie, BTW, and worth every minute of your time.
Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:11amAnd what are YOU doing up?!
Report Post »GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:18amThe pain from a hip replacement does not allow me to get much sleep. Don’t like to take the drugs that have been prescribed. So I have to live with it.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 4:18am@ GBMBulletsSKNRD
Report Post »Those drugs are not that bad really ..for a short term regimen . In fact they might help in healing, personal experience :D
copatriots
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 4:28amLOL Show…..a rare 2 hour nap today is exactly why I’m still awake at 2:30 MT. BTW……really enjoy your posts!
Report Post »GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:00am@ cheezwhiz
I use the drugs that help the healing. It is the pain killing drugs that I don’t like to take. The doc wants to replace the other hip so I am looking at another 6 months of down time. The good news is I hired the best. When I saw the MRI and x-ray’s I had to ask myself how the hell am I still walking.
I am looking at working another 20 years so it is best to get it done now. I am 49 years young.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:33amI am looking at working another 20 years
Report Post »—–
Just 20 ?
;-)
GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:45am@ cheezwhiz
Ouch :-) I will need 20years 6 months. The 6 months recovery.
Report Post »GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:51amHow did we get so off subject?
Report Post »GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:54amYep your right again. I started it :-) anyway good night.
Report Post »jpsays
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:32amLove Drudge. I, for one would be lost without it.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:41amI like it when Drudge goes red-white n blue
Report Post »or red n green …
GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:46amcheezwhiz
Report Post »And same ? do you ever sleep?
Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:07amCheez, I like Drudge no matter what color they use.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:18am@ GBMBulletsSKNRD
Report Post »I’m @ work, shift ends @ 3 AM
GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:32am@ cheezwhiz
Report Post »I feel for ya having to work those hours. I can not wait to get back to work. I am an Ironworker (Non Union) and proud of that. Makes life a little tougher but I feel good when I pull my own weight.
commonsenseguy
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 4:14am@cheezwhiz, 3 am, thank god for night shift, sorry to say not for me, never could eat lunch at miidnight, heck i got fired from several night jobs years ago for falling a sleep, no harm done, but they were not happy, so i got booted,that is when i knew i was not cut out for night shift, but thanks to you and millions more the country still moves and i get to try and sleep. thanks night crews.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:27am@ commonsenseguy
Report Post »Strange isn’t it that our work-culture, work-ethic and our dignity of labor, which have made us great and prosperous as a country and are admired all over the world,
are so despised by our own government now ?
Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:29amI do NOT use a Google search engine. I use Ixquick (dot com) because they do not track the IP address. Google and Bing do track, and they sell the information.
You go to Tools, Internet Options, and set the search engine there, and make it your default.
Report Post »thinkinghuman
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:36amand you are weird to go to such extremes to be anonymous.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:04am@Thinking Human ~
Yeah, I’m weird. Ain’t never claimed to be “right!”
As for the “extremes,” well, that’s my personality because I am an alcoholic. We go to extremes; that’s what makes us alcoholics. I also have a mind for detail, which is usually an asset but can be a pain in the butt (particularly if I give more detail than you’re interested in hearing). BTW, I sobered up 31 years ago. Aren’t you glad?!
Report Post »GETLIFE
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:55amSomehow don’t feel you as “anonymous,” SHOWTIME.
Report Post »GeorgieJo
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:15amI stopped using Google long ago when I saw the CEO snoozing with Obummer’s people
Report Post »markamerica
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:50amShowtime: I’ve done the same thing with Startpage. I don’t use google or yahoo at all anymore.
For me, it’s less about privacy, (although Startpage’s privacy policies are superior too,) than it is about whose bread I’m buttering.
Mark
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:26amWell, duh! That didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out!
Report Post »GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:35am@Showtime
Report Post »Do you ever sleep?
thebarbarian
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:39amthe lame stream media is slow and mentally challanged( we are’nt supposed to say wrought with retards anymore ) so try to give them a break . after all they can’t halp it and with all of those leg thrilly/tingly things going on i’m sure that they are plenty distracted.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:59am@GBMBulletsSKNRD
ROFLMAO!!!
Tears are running down my face from laughing!
I sleep from about 4 a.m. until 10:30 or 11 a.m. Have NEVER been able to sleep unlessw I was driving a big truck. Could be asleep within 30-45 seconds then.
Report Post »brliantedj
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:26amLet me guess, even a 6 yo gets 36 virgins. BURN THEM ALL!!!
Report Post »thinkinghuman
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:35amThe problem with sharing news on Facebook with your friends, is that your friends often don’t think like you, and it results in an UNFRIEND. Who shares political news on Facebook? I sure don’t unless you want to lose a good friend over a little news story that offends them.
Here, I don’t care about offending YOU, because I don’t even know you OR care about you.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:55amThe problem with putting anything on FaceBook is that it can end up in your mother-in-law’s email inbox what you said about her son! That happened yesterday. I really didn’t appreciate being told (indirectly) that my son is a POS (she used no acronyms) or whatever else she said. She mentioned nothing about herself, not even that she‘s guilty of the same thing that she’s pointing her finger at him for.
I’m just not very happy with FaceBook right now because Zuckerburg (or whatever his name is) has given Obama access to half a million accounts for his political campaign.
Report Post »Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:18amDrudge is a great place for news.
Name one other place that has SO MUCH about SO MANY things.
Facebook is good to talk to your high school prom data
Report Post »Mee the People
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:41amnext he will find WMDs in Iraq a week before the 2012 election
Report Post »chalkdust
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 3:52amI discovered Drudge in the early 90′s and have been logging on daily for over 10 years. Facebook is great for spreading rumors, I don’t know about news. Twitter, I would say is good for rumors and half-truths as well. They both seem good for spreading word, not necessary accurate.
Report Post »Sometimes Drudge’s headlines are a little mis-leading. He uses an old style, attention getting headline that does get you to read the story. I like it and if you wanna know whats going on first, no better site than Drudge. No offense Blaze but for me, I log on to Drudge first then The Blaze.
GETLIFE
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 4:24am“I’m just not very happy with FaceBook right now because Zuckerburg (or whatever his name is) has given Obama access to half a million accounts for his political campaign.”
SHOWTIME, am trying to find news on this because I would like to understand the (campaign) dynamics. Any help?
Report Post »jredorange
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:41amHave you tried http://onepointsix.org? I have found it to much better than Drudge… no ads, popups, or clutter… you really should check it out. I like to go to Drudge and The Blaze periodically, but 1.6 is set as my homepage. My favorite is the images they use!
Report Post »SublimeOne
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:53am@ ThinkingHuman
Report Post »If you lose friends over your political beliefs, because of your posts on Facebook. Are they or were they, ever truly your friends?
HillBillySam1
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:18am@HUMAN
Report Post »Gosh, I am really surprised that you don’t care about offending me…..I REALLY like you! Perhaps The BLAZE should have an “UNFRIEND” button and emoticons to further enhance your “sharing of political views”…..LOL…. :)…… :P ……. :(
jeffyfreezone
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 7:52amThe Blaze, Drudge and Lucianne are my big 3!
Report Post »Mannax
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 9:22amTHINKINGHUMAN
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 2:35am
The problem with sharing news on Facebook with your friends, is that your friends often don’t think like you, and it results in an UNFRIEND. Who shares political news on Facebook? I sure don’t unless you want to lose a good friend over a little news story that offends them.
Here, I don’t care about offending YOU, because I don’t even know you OR care about you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have lost friends on Facebook for this exact reason.
Report Post »Captain Crunch
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 10:27amFacebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites are DANGEROUS and detrimental to your future health if common sense isn’t used. In the event the government turns on those it considers radical, extreem, racist, etc the social networking sites will be the first to be court ordered or compelled to turn over all their digital records. Your personal info is there, angry burn and slash statements are never deleted, which would be used as evidence against you. Keep that in mind the next time you start typing away on your keyboard with your emotions running high. Irrational statements made on the internet are going to be the downfall of lot of bloggers. It is happening in China and other places in the world. Don‘t have the attitude that it couldn’t happen here. I use two sites for commenting on news stories…and yes it does worry me at times. But I won’t let fear intimidate me into silence. It’s coming our way folks. Don’t be surprised by it. Just my opinion.
Report Post »jackrorabbit
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 10:35amFacebook has its uses, but politics isn’t one of them. Economics, God, drinking, and other things are, just not politics.
Report Post »