El Huffington Post passes the 1.5 million unique users mark in Spain

1,537,000 readers visited El Huffington Post in the month of February, according to comScore. With a growth of 28% over January, without counting users from outside Spain (474,000 in January) or those accessing from mobile devices, the online news portal, which was launched a year and nine months ago, was among the ten most-read general-interest new sources in Spain and was in third place among digital natives.

In a post published this morning, editor-in-chief, Montserrat Domínguez, thanked readers for their trust in the portal and discussed some of the keys to its success: "We understand that the commitment to provide a full account of today’s news is now more necessary than ever because we live in difficult and complex times. The economic crisis -- and how it’s being dealt with -- is undermining many of the achievements of previous generations, is deepening social inequality alarmingly, and is fast becoming a disturbing political and institutional crisis. But it is also ushering in a livelier, more participatory and supportive society that has found that living in a democracy is more than just voting every four years. A society that is all too aware that we need to build and strengthen democracy every day."

More than 500 bloggers write for El Huffington Post, which has fast become a window on a plurality of views. Journalists, artists, students, academics, activists, scientists, athletes, comedians, writers, the unemployed, politicians and expatriates are among the daily contributors. For Dominguez "content may be the soul of HuffPost, but how we present it is what makes us a real laboratory of ideas. We love to explore new ways of doing things." The journalist has also stressed the importance of readers in the success of the media outlet, with the use of social networking being a crucial factor: "Through Facebook and Twitter, readers spread our news with new readers and in unexpected places. 27% of our readers access us through social networks."