For Social Networks, There’s Still Room to Play
Nielsen Online’s September results for the top social networking sites include some familiar names - Myspace.com continues to lead the pack, followed by Facebook and Classmates.com. What is interesting is that nearly half of the biggest social networking sites are also among the fastest growing - and they are all most popular (when ranked by composition index) among age groups over 25.
Facebook and LinkedIn, although established in the social networking space, clearly still have growth momentum. Unlike MySpace, which indexes highest among visitors 12-17 and maintains a youthful feel, Facebook and LinkedIn are counting on the integration of social networking into visitors’ professional lives. They index highest among those 25-34 and 35-49, respectively. Reunion.com, a site to reconnect with old friends, classmates and colleagues, is most popular among visitors 55-64. This niche site’s strong growth in the past year is yet another indicator that social networking is not limited to the under-30 set. Finally, Tagged.com, which has really taken off since April of this year, indexes highest among 35-49 year olds. This is especially noteworthy since Tagged was originally targeted towards high school students, but has since been opened up to anyone older than 13.
MySpace is still going strong, but what these up-and-coming social networks remind us is that the story here is far from being played out. Many social networks are launched and fail, but with the right combination of reach and function, there is still room for others to ante up.
An interesting article - thank you.
With the exception of large networking platforms like LinkedIn and facebook, the future lies very much within niche social networks, which ultimately will have far greater appeal for people within specific jobs or professions. Such niche networks are allowing people to interact and engage with each other at a much more meaningful level.
What’s more, suppliers to specific professions can use niche networks to target their communications very much more accurately.
Financial services (where there is currently considerable growth within social networks) is a good example of niche online social networks in action. IFA Life for example is a financial social network where financial planners and wealth managers can network with each other, share best practice and debate industry issues etc online.
Whilst LinkedIn is a natural landing stage for financial services professionals, many are looking for a stronger sense of Community which can only really be found in smaller, niche sites.
See http://www.ifalife.com
Thanks again.
Philip Calvert
Sales and Online Communication Skills Speaker
Yes, very interesting article, thank you!
My question would be related to an extension of this debate. What are the better social networking software applications available for building professional sites (IFA Life included?)
Also, what are the best opportunities for social networking growth areas among niches?
Sincerely,
Ian
Interesting results, worth to note that early birds that had some good things for them e.g. friendster and ryze are so out by now. All major sites that facilitate group forming (following Reed’s law) are to be watched, amazing that LinkedIn grew so much without that functionality for so long. In my books it may keep up or even exceed growth rate in the year ahead. Thank you for sharing the numbers.
http://www.reed.com/gfn/docs/reedslaw.html
I agree. There certainly is room for growth given a specific audiences’ needs at a specific point in time. Given the current economic climate, there’s an even stronger need for financial professionals to collaborate and exchange best practices. All of which can be facilitated with today’s networking tools. These niche communities aren’t competing with the 800lb gorillas, they are simply more efficient at bringing people together who have specific needs, can network with each other and share best practices. Rep Street for example is a site that has recently grown legs as a result of the fall out and Wall Street. Where at once there was no imminent need for that type of community, today’s market conditions have changed that scenario.
See: http://www.repstreet.com
Antonio Otalvaro
New Media Consulting
“What is interesting is that nearly half of the biggest social networking sites are also among the fastest growing - and they are all most popular (when ranked by composition index) among age groups over 25.”
While interesting, this phenomenon is predictable for social networking sites. And unless the large sites suddenly break the rules of social networks ala a major Facebook Beacon incident, it should remain this way. Why? Think about it. People belong to sites where their friends are found. As the first generation of professional joined Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, the invited their book of friends or business contacts. As the volume grew and they told two friends and so on and so on, the mass continues to grow. This creates a disincentive for someone to join a smaller less known SNS because all of their friends and business contacts are on Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.
For example, while I maintain a MySpace account, I do all my magic on Facebook. As such, when someone finds me on MySpace I tell them to find me on Facebook and I send them a Facebook invite as well as hook them up with other Facebook friends they know or may know. It becomes an instant community created from the mass of users that were early adopters and now create the incentive to join one of the large networks.
Do niche platforms have a hope. Of course, but their approach is very different. And their user base will be small.
Of course, as stated above, if any of the large SNS make some major mistakes, users will lose trust and move on.
“This niche site’s strong growth in the past year is yet another indicator that social networking is not limited to the under-30 set.”
I’m not sure who decided that being older means being done from a technological perspective. For years we have heard that baby boomers are living and working longer than previous generations. Do we assume that once they turn 50 they lose all ability to use computers and communicate? If anything, I would expect baby boomers and other retirees to have more time on their hands to socialize - whether in person or on the PC. As such, I would not be surprised if over the next few years we find baby boomers acting much like the 12 to 17 year olds who also have a lot more time on their hands than the rising or mature professionals with careers and families taking up a lot of their time.
Check out eons.com and grandparents.com. Don’t count these 50+ out. I have a feeling they will be the next “big thing” for social networking sites.
Niche social networks are a welcome addition to the web. Because they are more narrowly focused, they are better able to serve the needs of their community.
The large generic social networks like Facebook and Myspace are great for keeping in touch with friends, but small social networks offer much more - people just like you who share your same passions.
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