Bizcommunity.com was the only media news resource in the marketing, advertising, media, communications and aligned services in the creative industries in South Africa, that featured.
Bizcommunity.com MD, Andre Rademan, said he was thrilled at the accolade. "It is an honour to be featured on the FM's Top 100 list, and proof that we are the most read and the online media that best serves our industry."
Editor, Louise Marsland, thanked all the readers that nominated and voted for Bizcommunity.com. "This is your community and we are awed by the prestige of featuring up there among the best of global websites, according to the impressive profile of the readers of the Financial Mail. The Marketing and Communications sector is one of the most vibrant and innovative in South Africa and it is indeed high praise for a young business-to-business site such as Bizcommunity.com, to be featured up there alongside the giants of cyberspace communities."
What is clear, according to the FM, is that the web is still at its best doing what it was designed to do - linking like-minded people. This is illustrated by the number of online communities and forums that were nominated.
The online survey, 'The FM100 sites that save you time & money' was advertised through various online and offline media and conducted by web research company Blue River Stone. It wasn't simply a popularity contest, respondents were asked to nominate the sites they thought saved them time and/or money. The respondents were also asked to justify their nomination.
The results suggest that many people interpreted the time and/or money saving to mean a site that delivers value to them, the Financial Mail reports.
There is little doubt that portals and communities represent the heart of the Internet, according to the Financial Mail. These are the places where nearly all Internet users go to catch up on news, browse for interesting information and chat with like-minded people. Here are the FM readers' favourites:
Other categories were:
Financial Mail also reports that its respondents are 'Internet savvy': "they are young (under 35), opinionated, mostly male and groovy".
"These folk are on the net several times a day. Two obvious groups of users emerged from the research - those who worked on the Internet, the techies, and those who were using it as a business and personal tool," the Financial Mail reports.
"Their usage patterns reflected their experience of the Internet. While all used the 'net to search for new information, to go banking and do some shopping, only the more sophisticated users are accessing remote mail, engaging with online newsgroups and IRC/instant messaging; downloading stuff; and web authoring. As far as they are concerned, the Internet has benefited their lives."
For the full list of the Top 100 favourite websites, click here:
