Via the New York Times
By ALEX MINDLIN
Published: November 30, 2008
Canadian Internet users are far more likely than Americans to use a social networking Web site, according to September figures released by the research firm comScore. That number is consistent with Canadians’ generally heavy use of sophisticated Internet features like online video. “We joke that it’s because of those long winter nights up there,” said Andrew Lipsman, a senior analyst at comScore.
But it also reflects the broader truth that the popularity of such Web sites, and which services are at the top, can vary sharply in neighboring countries.
“One site may catch on in a certain country, and another may catch on elsewhere,” said Mr. Lipsman. “Often it’s whichever one gained prominence in the early phase of the game.”
For example, Google’s Orkut service, which has a third of Facebook’s traffic in the United States, is the dominant social networking site in both India and Brazil. ALEX MINDLIN
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Percent Reach for Social Networking Category in Selected Countries* Total Worldwide, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations* Source: comScore World Metrix |
|||
|
Country |
Percent Reach |
||
|
Sep-2007 |
Sep-2008 |
Point Change |
|
|
Canada |
83.9 |
86.5 |
2.6 |
|
Brazil |
76.0 |
85.3 |
9.3 |
|
United Kingdom |
78.7 |
78.4 |
-0.3 |
|
Mexico |
67.3 |
73.0 |
5.7 |
|
Spain |
63.9 |
70.7 |
6.8 |
|
United States |
65.8 |
70.2 |
4.5 |
|
Australia |
56.5 |
67.5 |
11.1 |
|
Germany |
45.9 |
65.5 |
19.6 |
|
Italy |
53.0 |
62.2 |
9.1 |
|
Netherlands |
55.7 |
61.3 |
5.6 |
|
Russian Federation |
36.3 |
60.7 |
24.4 |
|
India |
50.9 |
60.3 |
9.4 |
|
France |
51.4 |
59.1 |
7.7 |
|
South Korea |
52.3 |
58.3 |
6.0 |
|
Japan |
56.4 |
55.7 |
-0.7 |
|
China |
44.7 |
50.3 |
5.6 |
|
Taiwan |
48.1 |
42.9 |
-5.2 |
*Includes countries with a total Internet population of at least 10 million unique visitors in September 2008.
**Excludes traffic from public computers, such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones/PDAs.
“For Internet users in Brazil, social networking continues to flourish as a hugely popular activity,” said Alex Banks, managing director of Latin America for comScore. “One likely reason for social networking’s success in Brazil is that its concept of online community closely aligns with the culture in Brazil, which is also centered on a strong sense of community and social activity.”
Numbers Via Comscore
