Social Networking Snapshot

Yesterday, Pew Internet published a look at social networking. The study looks at the broad demographics of social networking users as well as some trends, i.e. - most social networkers having more than one account.

Beyond the demographics, some of the interesting nuggets to me were:

• 49% of Adults with an online profile use it to "Make Plans with Friends."
• Most social network users use the sites daily (37%). This suggests that with a heavy, consistent advertising presence that the message should be changed more frequently.

What Are You Doing Online?

Media Post published the Fall 2008 top online activities as reported through MRI.

Some things of note BESIDES their callout to the rise in video watching/downloading:

• Not so suprisingly, a rise in those seeking jobs online. Additionally, recipe sites also saw a strong lift.


• Blog visitation continues to rise-- honestly, this 11% of pop stat worries me. I'm not sure everyone knows they're going to a blog. Sure, the # isn't off by much, but I do think it's a bit soft.


• 20.5% made personal/business travel plans (up slightly)


• 19.9% of consumers obtained medical information online (again up slightly). This is a great stat to look at as most other studies ask if someone gathered health information (@ 80% of the online population does this activity), which can cover anything from dieting to researching heart disease.