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#Socialmediarulesmylife

Nielsen releases its first-ever State of Social Media Report, and the results are somewhat, kind of, but not really surprising...

It’s no longer a secret that the Internet and social media have taken over the world of communications and information dessimenation.

But do we really understand to what extent this new medium has co-opted our daily lives?

Nielsen recently released its “State of the Media: Social Media Report” for Q3 2011, and there are some surprising, not-so-surprising and at the very least, interesting findings about just how we spend our free time.

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It is a medium that is growing exponentially, connecting us with just about everything we watch, believe… and buy.

A Snapshot of the Findings:

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  • Social networks and blogs are still the top destination online—Social Networks and blog sites rule Americans’ Internet time, accounting for 23 percent of the time spent online, more than twice the amount of time spent on the #2 category, which is online games.
  • Females and 18-34-year olds are the most active social networkers—Females make up the majority of visitors to social networks and blogs, and people aged 18-34 have the highest concentration of visitors among all age groups. Americans aged 35-49 are also avid visitors.
  • Men are more likely to visit LinkedIn and Wikia—LinkedIn and Wikia are the only sites in the category where the percentage of men visiting exceeds the percentage of total active male Internet users (47%). Facebook continues to reign supreme as the top U.S. social network, with more than 140 million visitors during May 2011—nearly 3 times the audience of the #2 site.
  • U.S. Internet users spend more time on Facebook than any other Web Brand—Facebook has become synonymous not only with social media, but with Web use in general, as Americans spend more time on Facebook than any other site.
  • More women view videos on social networks, but men watch longer—During May 2011, more than 31 million people in the U.S. watched video content on social networks and blogs, viewing nearly 157 million video streams. Although 4,000 more women view video on these sites compared to men, men are the heaviest users, streaming more videos and spending 9 percent more time watching.
  • Active social media users are influential offline—consumers frequently trust the recommendations of their peers, making social media an ideal platform for influencers to spread their ideas and purchase power. Offline, active adult social networkers are more likely than the average adult Internet user to be found at political rallies, professional sporting events and working out at the gym
  • Finally, when compared with the average adult Internet user, active social network users were:
    • 45 percent more likely to go on a date;
    • 75 percent more likely to be heavy spenders on music;
    • 26 percent more likely to offer opinions on politics and current events;
    • 19 percent more likely to attend a professional sporting event;
    • 18 percent more likely to belong to a gym or health club;
    • 47 percent more likely to spend heavily on clothing, shoes, and accessories; and
    • 33 percent more likely to offer opinions on television shows.

 


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