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"This article is part of the Open Web Awards, an open, international contest for the best websites and services.\nLots of social networks saw significant growth this year.  Facebook\u2019s audience more than doubled, overtaking MySpace in terms of worldwide traffic (though MySpace remains larger in the US).  Both socnets also underwent significant redesigns, with Facebook radically changing its look and feel (to the dismay of many users) and MySpace emulating a number of popular Facebook features like the News Feed.\nSocial networks also expanded internationally.  In addition to Facebook and MySpace launching international versions, social networks like hi5 and Sonico saw big growth in certain parts of the world.   Meanwhile, one of the biggest international socnets \u2013 Bebo \u2013 was acquired by AOL for $850 million, one of the largest deals so far in the social networking space.  \nWant more ideas for who to nominate?  Check out the top 20 social networks.   \nMake Your Nomination\n \nMashable Open Web Awards\nSpread the Word\nFeel free to elaborate on your nomination in the comments, or try to gain more support for your favorite service by copying the widget to your blog (click the \"Grab This\" link in the widget above)!\nSupport Our Sponsors\nThe Open Web Awards is made possible by our sponsors.  By supporting the Open Web Awards, these companies reward and encourage innovative web technologies.  We can't thank them enough for sharing our passion: building great web companies.\nPlatinum Partner\n\"PartnerUp brings small business and social networking together to create a community where entrepreneurs find the people, resources and information to grow their businesses.\"\nGold Sponsors\n\"iStockphoto is the world's leading image market and a revenue-sharing social network. Browse 3.5 million images and videos starting at $1 or become a contributor.\"\n\"With Quintura\u2019s advanced visual-based search and analytics solution, content publishers can increase site usage while creating new ad revenues\"\nPrize Sponsor\n\"Infinite and Instant, Zazzle is the only on-demand retail platform for consumers and major brands, offering billions of retail quality, one-of-a-kind products, most of which are produced within 24 hours.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2008/11/05/big-social-networks/>