Social networking is nothing new, but the popularity and accessibility of the Internet have made the online realm, rather than just the office water cooler, a popular place for people to connect with others. According to statistics portal Statista, the number of social network users worldwide is projected to climb from 970 million in 2010 to 1.82 billion in 2014 to 2.33 billion in 2017. While there are many different sites online, a best-of list for October 2014 by eBizMBA finds that the top five people-connecting sites are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google Plus+.
Facebook reports that it had an average of 829 million daily active users in June 2014, and around 81.7% of its daily active users resided outside of the United States and Canada. Just by sheer numbers and global reach alone, Facebook provides the best opportunity for people to connect with friends and to make new acquaintances. The Statistic Brain website, meanwhile, notes that there was a 22% jump in the number of Facebook users from 2012 to 2013.
With 271 million active users each month, Twitter is also a force to be reckoned with. People use the microblogging website to connect with others, to share their thoughts, and to keep up with thought leaders from all walks of life and industries. In fact, Twitter notes that 500 million messages are sent every day across its platform, that it supports more than 35 languages and that 77% of its user accounts are outside of the United States. This showcases the social networking sites popularity, global reach and ability to connect people from all around the world.
LinkedIn, a popular site for career-minded professionals, states on its site that it has north of 313 million members living in 200+ nations and territories around the world. As well, the site is available in 23 different languages. These statistics help to demonstrate the importance of this social networking site for professionals from different sectors and from different nationalities.
Media Bistro reports that Pinterest had more than 70 million total users, 40 million of whom were active users in June 2014. According to the report, 23% of members use the site at least once every day. This site is particularly useful for people who want to connect with those who have similar interests ranging from cuisine to fashion to pets to just about anything else.
Google Plus+
According to the aforementioned research from eBizMBA, Google Plus+’s estimated unique monthly visitors was 120 million. Google is a corporate juggernaut that is certainly no longer just a search engine giant. The company’s Google Plus+ site and YouTube video sharing site provide different ways for people to connect with others.
Social networking sites provide people with a relatively easy way to interact with others. While there are lots of options for social networking, the research shows that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google Plus+ are people-connecting platforms that have essentially become the most popular virtual water coolers dotting the social networking landscape.
Works Cited
“Number of social network users worldwide from 2010 to 2017.” Statista.com. Statista Inc., n.d. Web. 16 October 2014.
“Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites | October 2014.” eBizMBA.com. eBizMBA Inc., n.d. Web. 16 October 2014
“Our Mission.” Facebook.com. Facebook Inc., n.d. Web. 16 October 2014.
“Facebook Statistics.” StatisticBrain.com. Statistic Brain, n.d. Web. 16 October 2014
Twitter. Twitter Inc. Web. 16 October 2014.
Bennett, Shea. “Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat – Social Media Stats 2014.” All Twitter – The Unofficial Twitter Resource. Media Bistro, 9 June 2014. Web. 16 October 2014.
