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Determining the true value of social networks is a work in progress, but one thing is certain – the popularity of social networks is exploding.

According to a survey released today, 43% of the online community now uses social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and of course, professional networking sites like the one you’re on – CIOZone. That’s a sizeable jump from a year ago, when The Consumer Internet Barometer, a quarterly report produced by The Conference Board and research firm TNS,  found 27% of online users were using social networks.

“Social media is here to stay,” says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Online networks are more than just a fad among the younger generation. They’ve become an integral part of our personal and professional lives.”

The survey, which canvassed 10,000 households across the country, found that more than half of social networkers log on a least once a day and the majority of that group log on several times a day. Interacting with family, friends and celebrities are among the main reasons people stated they logged on to sites like Twitter. The majority of users log on at home, although a quarter of social networkers log on at work, and 10% connect through such devices as smartphones.

“Social media has transformed the way individuals connect and communicate with one another,” says Anita Watkins, senior vice president at TNS. “Smart marketers are utilizing this behavior to their advantage by setting up online communities in which consumers can freely interact, discuss and debate issues around products, services and brands in a natural way.” Watkins says companies, in turn, are listening to these conversations and co-opting “influencers” to create marketing strategies.

The survey found that Facebook is the most popular social networking site, used by 78% of online households, followed by MySpace, 42%, LinkedIn, 17%, and Twitter, 10%. Both men and women use Facebook in equal numbers, however, women are more likely than men (47% versus 35%) to use MySpace.

Another interesting insight to be gleaned from the survey is the fact that even the older generation is tuning into the social media wave. A year ago only 6% of those aged 55 and older visited social media sites. Today, that number has risen to 19%.

It’s still early days for social networks, but in the future we here at CIOZone would like to see surveys on the number of people utilizing targeted professional social networks like our own. The numbers would be modest at the moment, but our bet is that this will be an area of tremendous growth and social change. And, of course, we intend to be leading that charge.
 

Comments (2)

	1. 06-16-2009 14:28
	Curious why you led your blog with "determining the value of social networks is still a work in progress." Has the concept not been proven, and do the results of this survey not reinforce the fact that they have value? Registered

Kazmarek

	2. 06-16-2009 15:50
	I should clarify. I wasn’t questioning whether social networks have value – I think CIOZone speaks for itself on that front. There is, however, a considerable amount of debate over whether some social networks can be commoditized. Despite its popularity, Facebook has been estimated to be burning through cash at a rate of $100 million a year. Twitter is an even better example of a popular social networking tool looking for a business plan. Registered

Mel Duvall

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