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If social networks were countries ; Jan Wooster SPONSORED COLUMN JOHN BONNEY ONLINE MARKETING SPECIALIST [Herald Express (UK)](Herald Express (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WE CURRENTLY live in an age where social networks are booming and pretty much everybody is on at least one social network. Whether it is Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest, they are all in high demand. With such an enormous and variation of audience, people have realised they are great for business use. They get you into contact with other people quickly and grow your business' awareness... but what if they were countries? If you put an offer for your business on Facebook, who can actually see that? You tweet on your business page, how many people will that reach? First off, the big one... Facebook. With roughly 1.5 billion users worldwide, Facebook would be about equal to India. Facebook was the first social network to really take off. It is THE social network. It was revolutionary as it kick-started the social media age that we live in today. It has done well, not only for becoming the behemoth that it is, but also for staying relevant for so long. There are many that have tried to knock Facebook off top spot, but all have failed. That brings me on to their closest rival and the only other social network that could become more relevant than Facebook, Twitter. With around 271 million active users in 2014, Twitter would be just slightly more populated than Indonesia, but a little bit less that the USA. From a network that only started eight years ago, that is a great feat. Most social networks either don't get past that many users or that many years. Although Twitter has not followed in the footsteps of some of its predecessors, it won't be mounting a charge for 'top spot' any time soon. Pinterest, a social network that isn't as popular as it should be, is a well-designed website and app, but its main restriction, as we know, is that you only have the ability to share images -- nothing else. However, we are seeing developments, as it has launched its new 'messenger' option; allowing users to privately message each other, with reference to the photos they've shared. Even though it is not as popular as others, it would still be the same size as Turkey at just over 70 million active users. Next we have Myspace, which has become nigh on obsolete over the years. At one time, it was the next big thing, but didn't get the backing that Facebook and Twitter have. That said, with 35 million users (not all active) it would be roughly the same size as Canada. Then we come to Google+. Not a lot of people even know that they have a Google+ account. With over 500 million users, it is second to Facebook, but instead of comparing it to a country on this planet, it's probably most like the moon; not many have ventured there, but over time it will really take off. If you have a question for John Bonney, please email [email protected] (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |