? of the Day to Meagan
What are your thoughts on overall social networking growth?
Nielson came out with a great report Monday–the big statistic was that 2/3 of the world’s internet population visit social networking or blogging sites, accounting for almost 10% of all internet time. Nielson also stated that social network and blogging sites are growing at three times the rate of overall Internet growth. One in every 11 online minutes is spent on a social network globally.
As Tara recently mentioned in a post, social network membership is shifting older in terms of growth. A great indicator of this is Facebook, with its greatest growth in the 35-49 age group and in the past year, the site added almost twice as many 50-64 year old users (+13.6 million) than it did under 18 year old users (+7.3 million).
The report also mentioned the growth of mobile use to keep up with social networking on the go. Having the ability to visit a social network via a mobile phone has increased 156% in the U.S. since last year (about 10.6 million people now have access to these services). Facebook’s mobile application, as of November 2008 had tripled in growth from 5 million to 15 millions users worldwide. As a user myself, I access my Facebook Blackberry app probably 10+ a day.
Examining the growth of social networks on a global stage is interesting to keep track of. It’s easy to see the growth around you on a daily basis, as family members, coworkers, peers and the-people-you-never-thought-would-join get involved with social networks. Social networks and blogs offer niche and thus universal appeal– there is something for everyone, everywhere.
Share with us your own stories of social networking growth. Or if you have any thoughts on the future of social networking (personal, U.S., global) hash it out in the comments!
Tags: Facebook, Facebook mobile, Nielson, social networking