Research into web habits reveals social networks growth

Suliman adds: "This research took place from November 2008 to March 2009. By comparing these four global examinations behind the hype of social media, we are able to provide a clear picture of how the landscape has changed and crucially work out how it is evolving for the future."

According to the information garnered, consumers continue to flock to digital destinations in order to create and share content. However, they are becoming more selective in terms of where they are doing it. The tools of social media are starting to coalesce on to a single platform type - the social network. There may be some way to go before the phrases "social media" and "social networks" are synonymous, but the consolidation has started.

Sampling

The entire active Internet universe has been measured at 625 million users whilst South Africa claims only 2 million. Social networks however continue to grow. Nearly two-thirds of active users have joined a social network site and 64% of these users spend time managing their profile. Blogging has nearly reached saturation in terms of total numbers, with 71% reading blogs, a small increase from last year's 70%.

All surveys are self-completed and the data collected is quantitative. Every market is representative of the 16-54 active internet universe and 22 729 Internet users in 38 countries, including South Africa, were interviewed. To be included, consumers needed to use the Internet every day or every other day.

"The research confirmed that social media is driven by active Internet users, if you don't use the Internet regularly, you are unlikely to sign up for tools such as blogging or set up a social network profile," says Suliman. "Active Internet users drive adoption of platforms and tools; they determine which tools and platforms become dominant in the social media space. They are the best proxy for the future - over time all Internet users will increase their usage and eventually everyone will become an active user, just like consumers made the transition from occasional to regular television viewing in the 1950s and 1960s."

Multimedia increases

Social media platforms are becoming more multimedia. The number of bloggers and social network users who have uploaded photos, videos, music and widgets has continued to rise. "The other big upward trend is that social media is being accessed by mobile in a big way," Suliman adds. “17% of active users globally access the Internet regularly on the move as well as at home, work or whilst out and about."

Online video watching has also increased dramatically with Wave 4 recording this activity at 83% amongst active Internet users, significantly ahead of the 32% recorded in Wave 1.

"Consumers historically typed or read when connected online - uploading pictures or watching video was a minority occupation. Faster broadband, the rise of YouTube and its ilk and the ability to embed video on everything from blogs to social network profile pages has made the moving image an essential part of the social media landscape.

"The Internet is a lot more interactive and will continue to evolve as we head into 2010," he concludes.

For the full report, visit universalmccann.bitecp.com/wave4/.