Tech Watch | InfoWorld Staff » Social networking's not just for kids

October 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Social networking's not just for kids

TAGS: Social networking

Google's move to pick up YouTube for a whopping $1.6 billion is a clear move toward achieving its social networking ambitions. Yahoo, in its purchase of Jumpcut and its rumored vie for Facebook, clearly has similar aspirations.

If you have any doubts as to the monetary potential of the red-hot social networking market, consider a recent study by comScore Media Metrix revealing that a growing number of 35 to 54 year olds are using sites like MySpace, once thought to be a haven for youngsters. (Reston, Va.-based comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore Networks, provides Internet audience measurement services.)

What that means is, people with more spending power than teens and 20-somethings are flocking to these kinds of sites, and that spells big opportunities for generating tons of advertising dollars.

According to the study, 38.5% of combined users on MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, and Xanga are between the ages of 35 and 54. MySpace, which has 55,778 users, boasts the highest percentage of that age group at 40.6%. Next is Xanga; 35.6% of its 8,066 users are in that 35 to 54 year-old age range. 34.5% of the mere 1,043 users on Friendster are 35 to 54. Finally, Facebook can boast that 33.5% of its 14,782 users are 35 to 54 years of age.

Here's how the numbers break down, as provided by comScore Media Metrix:

 

Demographic Profile of Visitors to Select Social Networking Sites Percent Composition of Total Unique Visitors August 2006 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore Media Metrix
	Percent (%) Composition of Unique Visitors
	Total Internet	MySpace.com	Facebook.com	Friendster.com	Xanga.com
Unique Visitors (000)	173,407	55,778	14,782	1,043	8,066
Total Audience	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Persons: 12-17	9.6	11.9	14.0	10.6	20.3
Persons: 18-24	11.3	18.1	34.0	15.6	15.5
Persons: 25-34	14.5	16.7	8.6	28.2	11.0
Persons: 35-54	38.5	40.6	33.5	34.5	35.6
Persons: 55+	18.0	11.0	7.6	8.1	7.3

 

Looking at the study broadly, Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix had this to say in a written statement:

"While the top social networking sites are typically viewed as directly competing with one another, our analysis demonstrates that each site occupies a slightly different niche. MySpace.com has the broadest appeal across age ranges, Facebook.com has created a niche among the college crowd, Friendster.com attracts a higher percentage of adults, and Xanga.com is most popular among younger teens. There is a misconception that social networking is the exclusive domain of teenagers, but this analysis confirms that the appeal of social networking sites is far broader."

Posted by Ted Samson on October 6, 2006 12:04 PM

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