Interesting data from Nielsen Online that two-thirds of the world’s Internet population visit social networking or blogging sites, accounting for almost 10% of all internet time
“Social networking has become a fundamental part of the global online experience,” says John Burbank, CEO of Nielsen Online. “While two-thirds of the global online population already accesses member community sites, their vigorous adoption and the migration of time show no signs of slowing. Social networking will continue to alter not just the global online landscape, but the consumer experience at large.”
Other key findings include:
- Time spent on social network sites is also expanding: Across the globe in 2008 activity in ‘Member Communities’ accounted for one in every 15 online minutes – now it accounts for one in every 11. In Brazil the average is one of every four minutes and in UK it’s one in every six minutes.
- The social network and blogging audience is becoming more diverse in terms of age: the biggest increase in visitors during 2008 to “Member Community” Web sites globally came from the 35-49 year old age group (+11.3 million).
- Mobile is playing an increasingly important role in social networking. Nielsen found UK mobile Web users have the greatest propensity to visit a social network through their handset, with 23 percent (2 million people) doing so, compared to 19 percent in the US (10.6 million people). These numbers are a big increase over last year – up 249 percent in the UK and 156 percent in the US.
While search and destination sites remain the most popular online activities, social network and blog use exceeded that of e-mail, increasing their reach by 5.4% in the last twelve months.
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Social Networking is absolutely getting more popular for last two years and sites are offering new features to attract as many customers as they can.
This data confirms what we have been seeing and experiencing online in 2007 and 2008. Web users continue to gravitate toward membership communities at an accelerating pace. Both communities large and small are witnessing rapid growth. Indeed, social networking is a compelling trend as captured by the Nielsen numbers. This is true for huge movements such as Facebook and Twitter, but also in smaller, more focused communities launched by associations and media organizations. I don’t believe the momentum of social media will lessen anytime soon.
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