The huge expansion in social network site usage has been confirmed in a report from Nielsen Online today.
The report entitled "Global Faces and Networked Places" shows that by the end of 2008, 66.8 percent of internet users across the globe accessed “member communities” last year, compared to 65.1 percent for email.
John Burbank, CEO of Nielsen Online said : “Social networking has become a fundamental part of the global online experience. 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”.
The study also found that users spent 63 percent more time on member communities than they did in the previous year. However, within member communities, Facebook saw growth of 566 percent in time spent on it by users worldwide. Facebook’s fastest growth demographic is older users – the social network tacked on 12.4 million people between ages 35-49 in 2008 according to Nielsen.
