The latest comScore data shows that the time people are spending on social networking sites is increasing – to nearly 3 hours a month on Facebook and roughly 4.5 hours a month for MySpace. This information reveals several interesting insights. First, for those non believers, it should be abundantly clear that social networks are getting stickier and stickier, as the networks of friends on these sites grow larger and there are more reasons for people to check in regularly to get the latest scoop on their friends (and to spend more time on the site once they get there). Second, applications can help to create that stickiness. The large gap between the time that MySpace and Facebook users spend on the site is attributed to the launch of MySpace Music. For example, a recent promo that plugged overlay ads into a My Chemical Romance video netted click-through-rates that topped 1.2 percent as the links connected to the band’s site and to Amazon which increased traffic and sales. And third, the recession and corresponding (a) rising unemployment and (b) shrinking discretionary dollars has given people more of a reason to stay home and stay online and up to date with what their friends are doing.

I guess the last, but the most important insight is that MySpace has managed to both increase the time spent on its site and benefit its bottom line at the same time as mentioned above. MySpace, with MySpace Music, has found a way to not only keep people on its site for about 90 minutes longer but has managed to ring the cash register too. Facebook may have just surpassed MySpace in terms of worldwide unique visitors, and is closing the gap on uniques in the US, but must now turn its attention to how making friends can also make some money.