Nielsen/NetRatings reports in their Monthly Featured Analysis on the Top 10 Online Web Brands, ranked by fastest year-to-year growth. Apple is #1, having grown 57% over the past year, thanks to iTunes. Google is second (29% growth), followed by Amazon (16%), MapQuest (13%), and Real (12%).

Even if you clicked through to the PDF of the release to get the rest of the top 10, you may not have noticed the section at the bottom of the release: “Younger Visitors Hit Fastest Growing Web Sites.”

Among the 12-24 set, social networking sites MySpace, Facebook, and Memegen (make your own quiz!) have grown 752%, 530%, and 446% respectively. They rank second through fourth. Photobucket, used to host many of the photos that appear on those sites, was number one, growing 1,492% (that’s not a typo).

Takeaway for marketers: If any of this comes as a surprise to you, it’s time to go read this Business Week article about the “MySpace Generation.”

It’s always worth keeping an eye on what Seth Godin is up to. His latest project is Squidoo, and you can read more about it in his latest eBook (I think it’s his latest; he might have churned out two or three more this morning), Everyone’s An Expert.

What’s Squidoo do? Well, Seth says Jeff Jarvis explains it even better than he does: “Seth is trying to create a new grammar for the essential introduction to whatever. He calls it a lens and though you’ll be able to create these lenses on his Squidoo, he also is very clear that you can create a lens anywhere right now.” There’s also a charity component to Squidoo, so non-profits ought to perk up their ears, too.

A beta is underway (a bummer that I wasn’t chosen; maybe in the second round), and some sample lenses have been posted here.

Takeaway for marketers: While it’s hard to tell quite where this might be headed until it’s possible to dig in and create a lens, ignoring such a big project by Seth really isn’t an option. Pay attention to this one.

From their “about us” page: “aSmallWorld is an invitation-only online community which is not open to the public. It is designed for those who already have strong connections with one another. It allows you to interact more effectively with like minded individuals who share same circle of friends, interests, and schedule. We list the most popular restaurants, hotels, and night clubs in over 60 major cities, summer and winter resorts and we keep track of major events, parties, exhibitions, film and music festivals and sporting events such as motor racing, tennis, sailing, golf, and others. Our goal is to become the leading global social networking community.”