September 2011

Google’s orkut has dominated the social network space in Brazil since it was launched in 2004. Brazil is the only place where orkut has gained any sizeable market share, but it looks like Brazilians are finally moving away from orkut and  turning to Facebook and Twitter.

A report from IBOPE Nielsen Online, puts Facebook ahead of orkut in popularity. An August 2011 study found that Facebook had 30.9 million users in Brazil in August 2011, or 68.2% of internet users, while orkut had 29 million users, or 64% of internet users. Twitter came in with 14.2 million, or 31.3% of internet users in the country.

Who’s Using Tumblr?

September 26, 2011

Tumblr, the social blogging site, has seen solid growth since its launch in 2007. More users are publishing on the site and viewing others’ posts, while brands, media outlets and marketers are experimenting with how best to leverage this growing community.

In its “State of the Media: Social Media Report Q3, 2011,” The Nielsen Company tracked Tumblr unique US visitors from May 2010 to May 2011 and found 183% growth in a single year. In May 2011, the site had 11.9 million unique visitors, up from 4.2 million one year earlier, and averaged 21,280 messages and links posted per day.

The US Sports Social Media Report By Braveheart Sports Network for September 2011 shows that the Los Angeles Lakers are far and away the most dominate US sports franchise in social media.

Braveheart Sports Network looked at the number of Twitter followers and Facebook fans that every NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB and MLS team has, to see who is winning the social media battle online.

It is rare that a brand and/or team can successfully execute a winning social media strategy on both Twitter and Facebook, but the Lakers have found a way to dominate both social media platforms.

Good article by Nichole Kelly titled six reasons not to create a Facebook page.

Nichole writes that ”

Many companies are rushing to try and jump into social media because they feel tremendous pressure to prevent being left behind.. It’s not surprising then that when faced with building a corporate social media presence, most are turning to Facebook as the answer. Facebook has become the strategy you “won’t get fired for.” “

An update on the list of the top 10 social networking sites of 2011. Yes we have the usual social media giants like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter but there are plenty of other social networks out there that are making a splash, like newcomer Meetup, MyLife and MyYearBook.

Both consumers and marketers alike continue to puzzle through the seemingly endless options of social networks in order to figure out the best way to connect with each other for optimal community engagement.

Take a look through this infographic, produced by Shanghai Web Designers, to see some impressive stats from the top 10 social networking sites in 2011.

Unlike Facebook, where almost any name will do for your profile, Google+ takes your name very seriously. Its authenticity determines whether or not your account will be suspended. Google Chairman and former CEO Erich Schmidt recently described the measure as a means to ensure that the new social network remains an “identity service.” Schmidt was more specifically addressing criticism that the strict naming guideline restricts user privacy and confidentiality. Google basically doesn’t believe that false names infringe on user privacy. They do, however, recognize that false names infringe upon a social network’s ability to make money.