Social media reshaping the Internet

Nielsen report says in the last year alone, time spent on social networking sites surges 73 percent

Internet engagement is increasing every year.  This is due to the fact that social media and online video consumption are becoming a part of our every day lives.  

In a report released by the Nielsen Company today, we see clearly how these forms of online content have reshaped the Internet.

Some highlights from the report include:

• The number of American users frequenting online video destinations has climbed 339 percent since 2003.
• Time spent on video sites has shot up almost 2,000 percent over the same period.
• In the last year alone, unique viewers of online video grew 10 percent, the number of streams grew 41 percent, the streams per user grew 27 percent and the total minutes engaged with online video grew 71 percent.
• There are 87 percent more online social media users now than in 2003, with 883 percent more time devoted to those sites.  
• In the last year alone, time spent on social networking sites has surged 73 percent.

• In February, social network usage exceeded Web-based e-mail usage for the first time.

Also included in the report is an interesting exhibit which takes a look at the relative "buzz", or online conversations, between the three biggest social networking sites: MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.   Twitter surpasssed Facebook in March of this year and appears to be stretching ahead.  MySpace seems to have fallen significantly since February of this year.  See graph to left.