Social Networking and Connectivity in the Digital Age - US - January 2008

Table of Contents

Scope and Themes

• What you need to know
• Definition
• Data sources
• Consumer survey data
• Abbreviations and terms
• Abbreviations
• Terms

Executive Summary

• Social networks on the rise
• Young adults drive market
• Ad spending on social networks is up …
• … but it amounts to only a fraction of overall online spending
• New opportunities for advertising are created
• Social networks emphasize video streaming …
• … just as they do instant messaging

Demographics and Trends

• Key points
• It' s a broadband world
  • Figure 1: U.S. broadband households, 2000-10
• Echo Boomers drive market
  • Figure 2: Population by generations, 2002-12
• Lack of privacy provides marketing opportunities
  • Figure 3: Personal information online teens are most likely to give out through their social networks, Pew Internet & American Life Project Parents and Teens Survey, November 2006
• But beware of being too presumptuous
• ‘Friendship’ develops new meanings
• New marketing opportunities and relationships arise
• Internet video adaptable to branding
  • Figure 4: Top U.S. online video properties by unique video viewers, July 2007
• Social network users are frequent online shoppers
  • Figure 5: Top retail site categories among heavy U.S. social networkers, August 2007
  • Figure 6: Top retail sites* among heavy social networkers, August 2007
• Social networking has room to grow in U.S.
  • Figure 7: Average minutes per month per visitor on social networking sites, by region of the world, August 2007
  • Figure 8: Share of visitors to selected social networking sites, by region of the world, June 2007

Social Networking Sites: Players

• Key points
  • Figure 9: Usage of social networking sites, November 2007
• MySpace
• MySpace versus Facebook
• Facebook
• Classmates
• Yahoo! 360
• Reunion.com
• Flickr
• Friendster
• Tagged
• LiveJournal
• Windows Live Spaces
• AOL Hometown
• BlackPlanet.com
• Blogger
• Bebo
• Xanga
• Meetup
• imeem
• Broadcaster.com
• Fotolog

Social Networking Sites: Attitudes and Behavior

• Key points
• Use of and attitudes towards social networking visits by frequency of use
• Time spent social networking
• figure 10: Time spent social networking, by gender, November 2007
• Social networking activities by frequency of usage
  • Figure 11: Usage of selected Internet activities, by frequency of social networking visits, November 2007
• Marketing attitudes and behavior by frequency
  • Figure 12: Attitudes and behavior towards Internet marketing techniques, by frequency of social networking visits, November 2007
  • Figure 13: How Internet users interact with or respond to online advertising, by age, November 2007
• Ways respondents use social networks to interact
  • Figure 14: Usage of social networking to communicate, gather information, and share information, by frequency of social networking visits, November 2007

Social Networking and Online Video

• Key points
• Social networks chasing YouTube' s lead
  • Figure 15: Sites used for video download or viewing, by gender, November 2007
  • Figure 16: Sites used for video download or viewing, by age, November 2007
  • Figure 17: Sites used for video download or viewing, by household income, November 2007
• Online videos build community
  • Figure 18: How Internet users engage with online video, by gender, November 2007
• Links connect video viewers together
  • Figure 19: How Internet users engage with online video, by age, November 2007
  • Figure 20: Interest in videos sent by friends, by key demographics, August 2007
• Social networkers hungry for entertainment clips, not necessarily news
  • Figure 21: Online video content viewership, by gender, November 2007
  • Figure 22: Online video content viewership, by age, November 2007
• Social network users interact with online video

Social Networking: Marketing Trends and Opportunities

• Key points
  • Figure 23: U.S. online social network advertising spending, 2006-11, December 2007
  • Figure 24: U.S. online social network advertising spending, by site/type of network, 2007 and 2008, May 2007
  • Figure 25: U.S. online advertising spending, 2001-11, October 2007
• Social network users receptive to entertaining advertising
  • Figure 26: How Internet users interact with or respond to online advertising, by gender, November 2007
  • Figure 27: How Internet users interact with or respond to online advertising, by age, November 2007
• Knowing your consumer by tracking their profiles
• Advertisers mimic social network experience
• Widgets
• Recruiting brand advocates
  • Figure 28: U.S. adult Internet users who are word-of-mouth influencers*, 2006-11, June 2007
• Profile branding
• Online video integrates advertiser messages in new ways
  • Figure 29: U.S. online video advertising spending, 2001-11, June 2007
• Sponsored video
• Branded video

Instant Messaging

• Key points
• IM and social networks
  • Figure 30: Top five online sub-categories ranked by total time spent, May 2007
• Meebo reflects IM market trend
  • Figure 31: Fastest-growing U.S. instant messaging destinations, August 2006-June 2007
• IM allows direct access to consumers
• IM and consumer behavior
  • Figure 32: Time spent every day instant messaging, by gender, November 2007
  • Figure 33: Time spent every day instant messaging, by age, November 2007
  • Figure 34: Time spent every day instant messaging, by household income, November 2007
  • Figure 35: Consumer behavior regarding IM, by gender, November 2007
  • Figure 36: Consumer behavior regarding IM, by age, November 2007
  • Figure 37: Consumer behavior regarding IM, by household income, November 2007