Social Media Sites... Mainstream?

Mainstream Social Media

Stats from the study:
* 75% of Internet users participate in social media, whereas only 56% participated in 2007.

* 48% of respondents have read a blog at least once.

* 69% identified themselves as active “spectators” of blogs, up from 48% the previous year.

* 37% identified themselves as “critics” that write product reviews, up from 25% the previous year.

* 19% “collect” Internet content through social bookmarking and RSS feeds, up from 12% the previous year.

* 21% publish a personal blog or Web page, a minor increase from 18% the previous year.

Quite surprising numbers, in my opinion. Over 3 out of 4 people participate in some form of Myspace, Facebook, etc and nearly 7 out of 10 users are regular blog viewers.

This is clearly a case of companies attaching themselves to an entity that's enormous in its range of demographics and number of users. When they see the amount of activity and potential for numerous types of content, it's an advertising goldmine. Not just that, even going so far as to make a Myspace page, which costs nothing.

Another point made in the study is that social networking sites can help improve relations between consumers and corporations. The growth and expansion of communication possibilities can only help when it comes to building trust with the cynical consumer.

That being said, Facebook can still go to hell for opening up access to non-collegiate students.