YouGov recently announced the results of a Bloomberg//YouGov survey examining social media trends and usage one month after the launch of the new social media site Google+.  The survey gauges the impact of the new Google product on the social media community and other social media products.

Google+

Already 13% of adult Internet users in the US have signed up for a Google+ account with another 9% planning to sign up in the next 12 months.  Those signing up are also highly engaged:

• 45% of users report reading content once a day or more (only Facebook’s 62% is higher among social networks)
• 46% of Google+ users report creating content (e.g., creating updates; posting links) at least once a week.  This is on par with Twitter (42%) – which focuses on easy content creation

Perhaps as a consequence of the steep launch trajectory some early adopters are claiming to have become early abandoners. 31% of early joiners report having abandoned Google+ accounts or have not yet created any content on it.

The demographics of Google+ users are significantly different from other social networks.  As existing networks like Facebook and LinkedIn have matured as products, they are attracting a more mature demographic.   Google early adopters skew young, male and educated:

• 3 men for every 2 women (vs. 1 man for every 1.2 women on Facebook)
• 43% of membership is 18-29 (vs. 31% for Facebook)
• 59% has a college degree (vs. 37% for Facebook)
• 48% are Single (vs. 33% of Facebook users)

“Google+ is tracing a path similar to Facebook’s initial growth – building excitement in a core group of early adopters.  For Facebook, it was college students.  For Google+, that path is young, educated, single men who are heavy internet users,” said Nardis.

Impact on Facebook

As Google+ gains followers, it is likely to negatively impact Facebook usage. 30% of Facebook users who already use Google+ plan on cutting down time spent on Facebook this year. 

Impact on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Myspace

Google+ is well-positioned to become the second-largest social networking site in the US within the next 12 months.  As an estimated 16 MM US online adults plan to join Google+ in the next year – substantially higher than any other social network – it is positioned to surpass Myspace, Twitter, and LinkedIn in US membership.

Other Social Media Sites

Only 19% of US Internet users are members of LinkedIn, but 35% of those with household incomes over $120k are members.  LinkedIn users are not, however, as active as other social media users and 24% of current members plan to reduce time spent on the network. 

Although 51% of all online adults check a network at least once a day, many social networks have a substantial number of members checking less than once a month:

The survey also showed that social media sites are not as “wide open” as some claim.  Only 17% of social media users accept “all” or “nearly all” connection requests, and 60% of users have deleted or de-friended connections.

Note

A sample from the YouGov panel of US residents was used for this study.  1,003 adults, nationally-representative of the US online adult population, were interviewed online from July 29, 2011- August 2, 2011.

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