Yesterday we brought you word from the social folk at Sonico that said they had essentially played their cards very right over the past 9 months or so and that they’d effectively claimed the title of Latin America’s largest network, growing faster and larger than regional stalwarts like Hi5 (very big throughout) and Orkut (very big in Brazil particularly). Sonico referenced its data from comScore records circa March 2008.
Hi5 now tells Mashable otherwise. The network cites a worldwide traffic number, also from comScore, this time for April 2008, which shows its own visitor figures strongly outpace those of Sonico: 45.6 million for Hi5 and 7.5 million for Sonico, respectively. As for the Latin American market, Hi5 claims 12m unique visitors monthly. Given that Sonico lives mostly in the same region, that would more or less put it with about half the traffic as Hi5.
Hi5 also goes on to tout its much more expansive support for 23 languages, a networking record for all intents and purposes (with many more to come, whose inclusion will be made possible through a user-powered translation program, launching today), but the company’s main argument is Sonico’s selective measurement the Latin American market. Which, given the true scope of the region, is a just point to raise.
Naturally, we were cautious when reporting Sonico’s assessment of its growth and present status. That’s why yesterday’s title on Mashable was posed in question. Hi5 is has been known for quite a long while as the mainstay of the Latin American region. For Sonico to have climbed the proverbial ladder in less than a year’s time would certainly be as massive achievement, and a surprising one.