The 2008 Social Network Analysis Report - Geographic - Demographic and Traffic Data Revealed

48 Responses to “The 2008 Social Network Analysis Report - Geographic - Demographic and Traffic Data Revealed”

1. Jason Peck on November 19th, 2008 1:33 pm

   Great info! Thanks for compiling this!!

   Jason Peck’s last blog post..SportsVids - YouTube for Sports

2. Brian Chappell on November 19th, 2008 1:39 pm

   Hey Jason, NP. Let me know if there any networks you would like to see included and I will dig up the stats and add them above.

3. Adam Gainer on November 19th, 2008 1:47 pm

   This is a really cool post, I was curious to see internationally who uses what.

   Adam Gainer’s last blog post..Media tracking and coverage

4. Bill Sodeman on November 19th, 2008 3:30 pm

   Great post! This is helpful information.

5. Diane Aull (Torka) on November 19th, 2008 4:37 pm

   Goodness gracious, it must have taken forever to compile all this! Thanks for taking the time, though — fascinating information.

6. Jason Cormier on November 19th, 2008 4:48 pm

   Interesting correlation between the 18-24 and 35-44 age groups on Plurk. If I had to pick the most exciting with respect to education, overall volume and/or positive trending — looks like Facebook, Hi5 and Twitter are showing the most promise.

   This is certainly a great snapshot to reference for strategic direction or prioritization around outreach. It’s been good to watch organizations get more comfortable with the fact that it’s no longer all about what’s on their web property. I’ll bookmark this post forever, with the hope you’ll update it again some day!

   Thanks to Brett Boarders at copybrighter for referring this to me. Brian, let me know if you might be interesting in doing a podcast about this with me at ctcblog.com. I guess you could argue we are competitors… but there is plenty to go around, don’t you think?

   Jason Cormier’s last blog post..The 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media

7. Jon Henshaw on November 19th, 2008 11:12 pm

   Thanks for spending the time to put this together. It’s a very interesting list and a lot to digest.

   Jon Henshaw’s last blog post..Stop Words Becoming Increasingly More Relevant to Domains and Search [1]

8. http://twitter.com/teedubya on November 20th, 2008 1:22 am

   Twitter is blowing up. That trending line is incredible.

   Facebook and Twitter have the most promise from this wave, it appears.

   Fark and Digg appear to be losing steam.

   Pownce doesnt have a chance.

   Interesting data. Great post!

   http://twitter.com/teedubya

9. Miriam Schwab on November 20th, 2008 2:18 am

   What a crazy awesome resource! Thanks so much for putting it together. I’ll definitely be referring to it.

   Miriam Schwab’s last blog post..Social Media Marketing – A Guide for the Common Man

10. Kitz007 on November 20th, 2008 3:00 am

    Interesting data,quite useful to take some imp decisions:)..!!

    But its strange to see Stumbleupon so low in the list,, i thought it to stand somewhere near Digg..:-| ..?

    Kitz007’s last blog post..Beautiful Deepawali Wishes

11. Brian Chappell on November 20th, 2008 9:43 am

    @Jon @TWya @Diane @Bill @Adam @Miriam Thanks guys.

12. Kenneth Darryl Brown on November 20th, 2008 11:49 am

    This is wonderful! It really allows you to compare your social network with your target market and evaluate where to focus your efforts. Also, it gives you an appreciation for other social networks around the world! Thank you, Jason Brett! www.twitter.com/KenE3C

13. Stuart Foster on November 20th, 2008 1:05 pm

    Wow, can’t even imagine how long it took to compile this data. Amazing stuff, it really gives you a macro look at the demographics of each social networking site. So plug in your niche to the correct site…and insert content… Looking forward to using some of this data at least.

    Stuart Foster’s last blog post..Why Facebook?

14. Kevin Singarayar on November 20th, 2008 3:41 pm

    Not sure how many hours of sleep you skipped to put this great resource together, but it definitely won’t go unappreciated. Good stuff Brian.

    Kevin Singarayar’s last blog post..Stuff I Found That Might Interest You - November 19, 2008

15. Adam Gershenbaum on November 20th, 2008 4:02 pm

    Wow man! You’ve totally done your homework here. Thanks for a resource that provides many utilities to me and for putting it all in one spot!

16. Glenn Murray on November 20th, 2008 5:35 pm

    Hey Brian. Great post. Thanks! Interesting that only 15 of these services are showing noticeable growth. What’s your take on that? (Or does that ratio actually compare favorably against non-social media sites?)

    Also what’s your Twitter id?

    Glenn (@divinewrite).

    Cheers.

17. Haidong on November 20th, 2008 6:13 pm

    Nice post!
    but, I think google’s demographic data is not very accurate, taking facebook for example, the age is definitely screwed.

18. Brett Borders on November 20th, 2008 8:20 pm

    This is really great data, I’ve been looking for stuff like this for quite and while! Cheers!

19. Mari Smith on November 20th, 2008 10:17 pm

    Brian!! This is fantastic! Thank you for so generously compiling all this valuable info on the socnet world. I’m telling my Twitter & Stumble buds now.

    Cheers
    @marismith

20. Jon Aizlewood on November 21st, 2008 6:31 am

    This is GOLD!

    You, sir, are a rockstar. Thank you for this.

    Jon

    Jon Aizlewood’s last blog post..+35 social media tools that make life easier

21. Brian Chappell on November 21st, 2008 10:55 am

    @Jon @mari @Brett Thanks for the kind words

    @Haidong -

    From what I have read google demo data is about as accurate as it gets.

    Brett Tabke breaks it down as well as anyone has:

    http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adwords/3682464.htm

    “Lets look at some of things google could be able to deduce about you (in varying degrees):

    - your income (from your location and surf habits)
    - your job (your work ip and search habits)
    - your spouse and family relationships
    - your sexual preferences
    - whether you own your home or not
    - if you are married
    - your social relationships
    - your websites visitors better than you know them ”

    -Glenn-

    You can follow me on twitter

    @

    http://twitter.com/brianchappell

22. David on November 21st, 2008 4:22 pm

    Have you seen this study on Obama and how he used social networks in his campaign? What do you think of it? http://www.yovia.com/

23. Ann on November 21st, 2008 5:01 pm

    Amazing work! Thanks for this resource.

24. Linda on November 21st, 2008 6:42 pm

    This is awesome, thank you! So interesting.

25. aftercancer on November 22nd, 2008 10:35 pm

    Well I literally Stumbled on to you and WOW! There are networks here I’d not heard of before. Thanks for the hard work!

26. Stephanie Calahan - Productive & Organized-We'll help you find your way! tm on November 24th, 2008 3:28 pm

    This information is exactly what I have been searching for. Thank you for taking the time to compile all of your reports into one comprehensive digest. Working with data for decisions is always a better way to go for the long term. I have already made some modifications to how I will be spending my time and I plan on telling my clients and colleagues too.

    To your success!
    Steph

    PS Much thanks to the Blog Squad for letting me know it was here!

    Stephanie Calahan - Productive & Organized-We’ll help you find your way! tm’s last blog post..Does Lack of Confidence Impact Your Productivity?

27. Cyril on November 24th, 2008 9:21 pm

    Thanks for all this info. That’s really important to select the web community in which we will fit in
    Cyril’s last blog post..Book (I haven’t read yet) review

28. Luis on November 28th, 2008 7:18 am

    What about Tuenti? It is the biggest one in Spain.

29. Dana Theus on December 1st, 2008 9:05 am

    Excellent resource. Thanks for posting!

    Dana Theus’s last blog post..How Will Business Socialize: Exploring the Social vs. Collaboration Conundrum

30. Brian Chappell on December 1st, 2008 11:37 am

    @Luis

    Added Tuenti. It seems to be seeing great growth at the moment.

31. Michela Ledwidge on December 3rd, 2008 7:18 pm

    Thanks for all this. Really interesting. Any chance you could add multiply.com?

32. Jeremiah Owyang on December 3rd, 2008 9:47 pm

    This is useful, but it’s not clear where the data sources are from, can you please update the post to indicate that? For example, how’d you get the demographic information?

    Are you using Google insight to find out which terms are being mentioned the most?

    Please share the methodology of your report, that’s standard procedure.

    Jeremiah Owyang’s last blog post..Weekly Digest of the Social Networking Space: Dec 3, 2008

33. Manny Hernandez on December 3rd, 2008 9:50 pm

    Curious how YouTube’s traffic is so huge in Peru!

34. sarah browne on December 3rd, 2008 10:06 pm

    @Jason Cormier — Re your comment: “Interesting correlation between the 18-24 and 35-44 age groups on Plurk.”

    In proprietary competitive landscape studies I’ve recently conducted for clients-whose-brands-you-would-know, there have been some intriguing correlations in psychographics, particularly in usage between 13-18 and 45-54 age groups. Fascinating similarities — virtually mirror-stats — in video, music and photo behaviors. We’re about to do a deep-dive to learn more but the hypothesis is that children and parents are much greater influences on each other than we might have believed.

    Will this possible pattern trend in social networking now that it’s no longer (totally) creepy to get a Friend Request from Mom?

    Love this site and yours, Jason.

35. wallpapers on December 4th, 2008 4:16 am

    some of the sites have a much lower audience than i was expecting - except facebook!

36. Glenn Murray on December 4th, 2008 9:09 am

    Great comment, Sarah! Very interesting. I’d love to see some of those results (both those you already have, and those you’re planning to uncover). Any chance you could share? - Glenn (Twitter: @divinewrite)

37. Brian Chappell on December 4th, 2008 9:36 am

    @Jeremiah

    Thanks for stopping by.

    The sources were noted at the top of the post. I made them bold so they will stand out more now.

    The demographic data is being pulled in from Google Adplanner.

    Brett Tabke gives great insight into how Google compiles this info:

    http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adwords/3682464.htm

    @Sarah

    Wonderful insight.

38. Dana Theus on December 4th, 2008 9:43 am

    Sarah:

    As a mom of (youngish Gen Yers) I don’t find your stats surprising at all. I’m the coolest mom on my kids’ Facebook (but then I watch this stuff alot). Those are great stats. How will we know when you publish?

    Dana Theus
    Magus Consulting

    Dana Theus’s last blog post..How Will Business Socialize: Exploring the Social vs. Collaboration Conundrum

39. Jeremiah Owyang on December 4th, 2008 9:52 am

    Thanks Brian

    I’m familiar with the sources, (cept the demographics one is new) but it’s important to note that Google insight tracks mentions of search terms. That’s not truly indicative of activity within the site, it just reflects who is looking for keywords, so this data could be interpreted in a number of ways.

    I agree that what you’ve done is helpful (I linked to it from my blog) and since there isn’t a strong third party site that can give true web analytics across all websites accurately, I appreciate your work. thanks

40. sarah browne on December 4th, 2008 12:49 pm

    Dana,

    So glad to hear from another ‘coolest Mom on Facebook’ — it wasn’t easy at first, was it? My daughter is used to Mom being the early adopter — I was one of the first AOL Greenhouse Partners (that infamous incubator presided over by early-cyber genius Ted Leonsis) when we bumbled along on 1200 baud back in 1995. She was used to Mom taking the Apple Quicktake to the grade school talent show and hosting Wired Women events.

    But Facebook– that was tricky.

    My old (wonderful) client — former Yahoo CMO Cammie Dunaway, now at Nintendo — says *she* is the ‘coolest Mom’ with her new job. How about a challenge match?? How did/are your kids handling your social media savvy?

    I’m working on getting permission from the Big Name client re the ‘mirror’ psychographic data. I might be able to release unattributed to them. Back at you soon.

41. espinete on December 5th, 2008 4:50 am

    Mister,

    where are the sources for all data below were pulled from Google Insights and Google Adplanner ?? Can I download or see it ???

    Thanks.

    It’s great !!

42. Jeff Taylor on December 6th, 2008 6:11 pm

    I am noticing that the Demographiic data for Facebook is incredibly misleading.

    Are you saying that the 45 - 54 age range is nearly twice as large as the 18-24 age of Facebook users? It is exactly the opposite, in fact, as the college age (18-21) is the largest group of facebook users, at 33% of the total user base.
    source: http://www.slideshare.net/mattanium/face-of-facebook-volume-2-september-2008-presentation?src=embed

    I do agree with you that Google’s data is accurate, however it seems that most of their data is based on who is searching for “facebook.com” on Google instead of who is actually using the service. This data is not meant to represent the actual user base, because if someone is an active member of Facebook, they wouldn’t be searching on google for “facebook.com”

    The ignite blog is one of my favorites, so I hope you understand that I am bringing this up with the best of intentions.

    I am simply worried that people are using this data to tell clients “Facebook is not very popular among 18-24 year olds, but it is much more visited by the 45-54 crowd.”

    Is there a way that you can clarify this?

43. Kevin Kanarek on December 8th, 2008 5:07 am

    Thanks for compiling this data and making it so uniform and clear! really.

    I’m working with a group of film makers and media producers on a proposal for a public television series and social media initiative (www.green21media.org) focused on sustainability issues. We have detailed statistics on PBS viewer demographics, and the data you’ve provided will help us show just how social media can complement that.

    2 questions:

    Does anyone out there know of similar collections of demographic data for social networking and social media sites? We’d like to factor in a number of different sources, including some research organizations (forrester, nielsen, etc.) and aggregate data/broad trends.

    why is there no demographic data for YouTube???? as you’re probably aware, using Quantcast, you can come up with something analogous, i.e.

    http://www.quantcast.com/youtube.com#summary

    cheers,

    -k

44. Brian Chappell on December 8th, 2008 11:07 am

    @Jeff Taylor

    Great question. Its tough to say what level of accuracy there is with these tools. You need to take everything with a grain of salt like you said and always try to pull in several sources when making decisions.

    The facebook demo does seem a bit sketchy.

    Here is googles explanation on many of the questions brought forward: http://www.google.com/support/adplanner/bin/topic.py?topic=15016

    Google Inisght doesn’t allow you like you said to pull in traffic data. So you must query the search phrase. To be consistent in my reporting I queried “sitename.com” for each URL.

    “if someone is an active member of Facebook, they wouldn’t be searching on google for “facebook.com”

    I will have to disagree with you a bit on that front. You would be surprised how many users will google “name.com” to find the site they are looking for, even if they are a return user. Therefore, this can show us the level of interest for a site pretty well IMO

    @ Kevin

    Google doesn’t allow the profiling of any entities that they own such as Youtube and Orkut, unfortunately, so I could not pull that data.

    Quantcast is another great source to check out for demo data kevin.

45. STRAIGHTALK on December 10th, 2008 2:11 am

    Man I really liked this Information You have provided.. this is absolutely great stuff to know about.. talking about SEO tools, I think You’ve got something here George..

    Happy Holidays

    STRAIGHTALK
    Norman Flecha

    STRAIGHTALK’s last blog post..

46. Jeff Taylor on December 11th, 2008 2:02 pm

    @Brian Chappell thanks for responding so quickly - I really like the pace of this blog!

    I mostly question the data presented in this post because I’m just trying to figure it out myself, and I do appreciate you putting it out here - it sparked my interest in looking deeper into the data.

    I do agree that people will search for, say, “livejournal.com” on google, but the problem with using this for demographic data is that typing a domain name into google is more common among older internet users, and less common among younger people that ‘grew up online.’ This is reflected in the stats that are presented above, since this data claims that sites such as facebook, livejournal, etc. are dominated by an older age-range.

    I was curious to see why the livejournal stats above say that users age 18-24 make up about 2% of visitors.

    Comparisons are easy with this community, since Livejournal actually publishes their stats, updated every 24 hours, here:
    http://www.livejournal.com/stats.bml

    Nearly all of the data direct from Livejournal themselves is dramatically different than your data in this post.

    While you say that Livejournal’s visitors are largely between the ages of 35-64, and that only ~2% of users are between 18-24, Livejournal says that their highest proportion of users are 20 years old!

    So it turns out that people who search for livejournal.com are almost exactly the opposite (demographics-wise) than the actual users of the site. Since Livejournal is a blogging community known to be popular among middle, high school and college students (skewing heavily female), it is their parents that are searching in google for this site.

    It’s quite the challenge to bring data together and compile info on social networking metrics, but with these bold discrepancies, would you consider taking a second look at your data? It would be neat to look into a wiki solution for us to keep sharing new ideas and findings on this kind of data.

47. Suzana on December 19th, 2008 2:43 pm

    Hi!

    I think you can include Orkut (www.orkut.com). This site of social networking is very popular in Brazil.

    cheers,

    Suzana

    Suzana’s last blog post..A atualidade de Marx

48. Pavan K on December 29th, 2008 10:33 pm

    Heh. Researching the web will never be the same without Diigo.com. Would love to see stats on this. What do you think?

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