facebook engancha (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In its company filings published this week,Facebook revealed that more than 83 million of its users are ‘fake,’ CNET reports.

Last week, in its first quarterly earnings report as a public company, the social networking site announced that it has 955 million monthly active users and 543 million monthly active mobile users.

But this week, tucked away in the company filings, Facebook has revealed that 8.7 percent of these accounts are likely fake.

More than half of these “fake” accounts are duplicate profiles, while 2.4 percent are “user-misclassifed” (think: pets and memes) and 1.5 percent are considered “undesirable” accounts, such as those created by spammers.

The social networking behemoth was quick to point out that its figures may not be entirely accurate, however. On page 24 of the report, Facebook inserted this caveat, acknowledging limitations in their metrics:

We believe the percentage of accounts that are duplicate or false is meaningfully lower in developed markets such as the United States or Australia and higher in developing markets such as Indonesia and Turkey. However, these estimates are based on an internal review of a limited sample of accounts and we apply significant judgment in making this determination, such as identifying names that appear to be fake or other behavior that appears inauthentic to the reviewers. As such, our estimation of duplicate or false accounts may not accurately represent the actual number of such accounts.

As CNET points out, an active Facebook user ”does not necessarily mean someone using Facebook.com,” as the metric merely refers to using a Facebook account somewhere on the Internet. For example, if users chose to click the “recommend” button at the top of this article, they would be considered active by Facebook, regardless of whether or not they ever go on Facebook.com directly.

In a related story, Facebook’s business model of relying on targeted advertising has come under fire in recent weeks after it was revealed that bots (or fake users) may be behind up to 80 percent of clicks on advertisements, according to BBC.

Source:- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

twitter logo map 09 (Photo credit: The Next Web)

Call it the United States of Tweets.

According to a study by the Oxford Internet Institute that examined which countries use Twitter the most, citizens in the U.S. interact with Twitter more than any other country, followed by Brazil, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom.

“The six largest countries in terms of information production through Twitter are: (1) the United States, (2) Brazil, (3) Indonesia, (4) the United Kingdom, (5) Mexico, and (6) Malaysia,” the Oxford Internet Institute wrote in its report. ”It is interesting to note that only two of the countries on that list are in the Global North and are traditional hubs of the production of codified knowledge.”

The researchers created a chart to illustrate which countries tweet most frequently, with more active nations getting a large portion of space on the “map.” Countries with darker shaded blocks also have a higher percentage of internet users, giving them higher “Twitter penetration.” (See the chart here)

For example, the graphic shows that Brazil produces a large number of tweets because it has the second largest box in the chart. The country also maintains a high amount of internet users, noted by the dark shading.

“A World Of Tweets” is another project that illustrates where tweets come from by displaying an interactive, constantly-updated map of Twitter activity. This website’s information is consistent with the Oxford study, listing the same top tweeting countries.

A World Of Tweets includes some other fun facts about Twitter activity across the world: Since November 2010, 27 percent of tweets have come from the United States, 23 percent from Brazil, 11 percent from Indonesia, 7 percent from the U.K., and 3 percent from the Netherlands. (See more stats here)

The Oxford Internet Institute writes that Twitter is doing much more than keeping the world abreast about what people had for lunch and transforming the spread of information:

By mapping the distribution of tweets in the world it becomes apparent that Twitter is allowing for broader participation than is possible in most other platforms and media. In other words, it might be allowing for a ‘democratisation’ of information production and sharing because of its low barriers to entry and adaptability to mobile devices. Similarly barriers to the dissemination of information, such as censorship, are also visible through the small proportion of tweets originating in China (home to the largest population of internet users in the world).

Any observer of the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movement knows full well Twitter’s power to help protesters organize and even catalyze political change. China has cracked down on several media sites for this very reason.

Source:- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Looks like TIME isn’t a big fan of Anonymous.

The loose-knit hacker group ended up in the number 36 spot on TIME’S 100 Most Influential People list, released on April 18, even though the group had been voted to first place on TIME’s online reader poll.

As of 5 p.m. ET on Friday, April 6, the hacker-activist collective beat out all other nominees with 395,793 votes in favor of its inclusion on the TIME 100 list. Jeremy Lin, who came in ninth on the poll, snagged TIME’s top honor on the official list.

So why did the TIME editors chose to place the hacker group at such a low spot on the list considering how high Anonymous placed in public polling and its widely publicized cyberattacks (to name just a few: striking government websites around the world in Tunisia, Algeria Zimbabwe, China, the United States and elsewhere; crashing the CIA’s public site; and, more recently, intercepting an FBI conference call and posting it online).

To be fair, Anonymous wasn’t the only TIME 100 contender whose place on the final list didn’t reflect people’s votes. For example, general manager of Reddit Erik Martin,came in second on the public poll with 26,4193 votes but then dropped drastically to number 83 on the final list. And Indian politician Narendra Modi, who came in thirdin the web poll with 25,6792 votes, didn’t even make the final list at all.

It may well be that Anonymous’ low ranking on the final list is due to the fact that TIME editors suspect the group of rigging the voting. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be the first time someone gamed TIME’s poll. As ZDNet pointed out in 2009, 4chan users “took advantage of the lack of authentication or validation of the online process” using “autovoters” to reorder the names that appeared on the poll.

Writing the official intro for Anonymous on the TIME 100 list, Barton Gellman asked bluntly, “Did Anonymous fix the TIME 100 poll?” He went on to include an unnamed person’s response to his query, an unnamed person said, “Depends on who you think is smarter, a global collective of highly skilled hackers or the TIME IT department.”

Check out TIME’s final 100 Most Influential people list here and the results of its pollhere.

Source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Related articles

• Time Announces Its 100 Most Influential People List (seattlepi.com)

Search engine Yahoo has released its results for the top 10 search terms of 2011.

Image via CrunchBase

This year, the most popular search were dominated by the usual news stories, celebrities and natural disasters, but there was also one big surprise. A gadget (see slideshow) topped Yahoo’s list of the top ten most-searched terms, a rare occurrence, according to Yahoo.

“In the 11 years that Yahoo! has compiled its annual list of top searches, PlayStation 2 (2001 and 2002) is the only other device to have captured the top slot,” Yahoo wrote in a post accompanying the list. “This year, [a gadget again] led the queries, bypassing a reality TV divorcee and America’s most wanted terrorist.”

Rival search engine Bing, which is owned by Microsoft, recently released its own year-end recap of the most-searched gadgets. Interestingly, the gadget that lords over Yahoo’s list appears in fourth place on Bing’s list.

As part of the company’s 2011 year in review, Yahoo has also put together a compilation video of the year’s most inspiring moments, a list of the 10 worst trends of the past 12 months, and much more. Visit Yahoo to see all these year-end goodies.

• iPhone

• Casey Anthony

• Kim Kardashian

• Katy Perry

• Jennifer Lopez

• Lindsay Lohan

• American Idol

• Jennifer Aniston

• Japan Earthquake

• Osama Bin Laden

Related articles

• iPhone more searched than Kardashian on Yahoo in 2011 (news.cnet.com)

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Every year, Fortune publishes its list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, which features the top U.S. companies to work for based on things like benefits, perks, diversity, and pay. Now Fortune’s data partner for that list, Great Place to Work, is launching its own list of the best global companies to work for based on many of the same metrics.

Read on to find out the top 10 companies in its inaugural list, “The World’s Best Multinational Workplaces,” along with some highlights about what makes them so great.

Who qualifies? Companies must have appeared on at least five national Great Place to Work lists, have at least 5,000 employees worldwide, and at least 40% of their global workforce must work outside of the company’s home country.

• Microsoft -

              Headquarters: Redmond, WA, USA
              2010 Revenue ($ millions): 69,900
              Rank: 1

              What makes it so great?

After Microsoft employees voiced their desire to contribute more to their communities, the software company gifted its workers with 40 paid hours a year to dedicate to volunteer activities — ranging from working in a soup kitchen once a week to spending a week building an orphanage. Bill Gates’ brainchild also supports employees who are new parents: In Norway, where maternity and paternity leaves are quite generous at the federal level, Microsoft hosts a “Junior Lunch” every quarter, allowing new parents on leave to come to the office for a lunch with their children, keeping the working parents in touch with their colleagues and up-to-date with office happenings.

“Microsoft is a place where you can be yourself,” says an employee. “It’s expected that you have an opinion, and there are multiple opportunities to really make a contribution to the company and to society. Unless you work here, it is hard to believe the passion that people display.”

• SAS -

              Headquarters: Cary, NC, USA
              2010 Revenue ($ millions): 2,430
              Rank: 2

              What makes it so great?

SAS, a business analytics and business intelligence software company, doesn’t outsource its North Carolina headquarters maintenance staff, preferring that its crews of gardeners, food service employees, and health care staff are SAS employees. Many SAS-ers also take pride in the company’s Curriculum Pathways program. Free of charge for all educators in the U.S., the interactive program provides standards-based resources in English, science, mathematics, social studies, and Spanish for over 50,000 American teachers. With initiatives like this, the company stays true to its mission — to enhance people’s ability to use information and create knowledge — and sets a great example for its staff. “It is, by far, the best place I have worked in more than 15 years of working within the industry,” raves an employee.

• NetApp -

              Headquarters: Sunnyvale, CA, USA
              2010 Revenue ($ millions): 5,123
              Rank: 3

              What makes it so great?

The ‘Catch Somebody Doing Something Right’ initiative, started by Vice Chairman Tom Mendoza 17 years ago and informally kept alive since, rewards NetApp employees of all levels for deeds that positively reflect the computer storage and data management company’s culture. Mendoza makes 30 calls, 5 minutes each, a week and personally thanks staffers for their impressive behavior. “NetApp makes you feel that you are part of a bigger picture. Every effort you make to do [your] job really means something to the organization as a whole,” says an employee.

After NetApp was forced to reduce its global workforce by 5% in 2009, the company’s execs went on a global tour, stopping by their offices in 13 different countries to raise company morale. The initiative worked: The next 12 months brought record numbers, including a 60% increase in the company’s stock price.

• Google -

              Headquarters: Mountain View, CA, USA
              2010 Revenue ($ millions): 29,321
              Rank: 4

              What makes it so great?

Though Google has grown tremendously since its startup days — the company hired 31.9% more employees this year than last — the behemoth Internet company still operates like one in many ways, says an employee. “The amount of direct exposure we get to leadership and the fact that the well-being of employees is held in such high regard [are both] incredible.”

With initiatives like 20% time (engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their time brainstorming and developing new Google-related content, even if it never materializes), Googlers retain the innovative spirit that often gets lost as small companies grow into larger ones.

The company also provides mentoring programs for its workers: In Google to Googler (g2g) classes, employees train each other on technology, business, and personal interests and in gWhiz, any Google employee globally can register to answer questions or provide mentorship on an area of expertise.

• FedEx Express -

             Headquarters: Memphis, TN, USA
             2010 Revenue ($ millions): 24,600
             Rank: 5

             What makes it so great?

Next time a FedEx courier smiles as he/she hands you a package (if you live in the Middle East or Europe), be sure to go online and fill out a customer service form — you could help that employee win the Courier of the Year competition. Couriers are rated by customers based on politeness, presentation, and helpfulness. In 2010, The company received 7,659 nominations — and the winners’ faces beam on posters in FedEx Express offices across the region.

The delivery service provider also has an online recruitment tool, Career Hub, which allows employees to track new job opportunities within the company and plan their careers.

• Cisco -

              Headquarters: San Jose, CA, USA
              2010 Revenue ($ millions): 40,040
              Rank: 6

              What makes it so great?

Every other month, Cisco CEO John Chambers invites employees whose birthdays fall within the designated two-month period to an informal Q&A with the head honcho himself. Those not located in its sunny San Jose headquarters can join the chat via Cisco TelePresence locations and TV broadcasts.

The company also offers job sharing, onsite childcare and, in France, pre-first day training. Through an interactive website, new employees learn all about Cisco’s mission and its culture, allowing for a smooth transition on the first day. This type of training is representative of the management chops the company boasts.

• Marriott -

              Headquarters: Bethesda, MD, USA
              2010 Revenue ($ millions): 11,691
              Rank: 7

              What makes it so great?

The “In the Beginning” introductory course, required at all Marriott hotels in Mexico, involves three days of interactive sessions that expose new hires to the Marriott culture. (A graduation ceremony and a one-night stay in the hotel are some of the spoils included in completing the course.)

The hotel company also begins every shift — in every department worldwide — with a “stand-up” meeting, where leaders highlight the goings-on in the company, acknowledge excellent associate behavior and birthdays, and discuss the company’s numbers. “There are so many associates that have been with the company for so long. [You gain] a wonderful second family, with friendships that last for years,” says an employee.

• McDonald’s -

              Headquarters: Oakbrook, IL, USA
              2010 Revenue ($ millions): 24,100
              Rank: 8

              What makes it so great?

The fast-food giant cares about its employees’ talents in the kitchen — and on the stage. McDonald’s Peru encourages workers to participate in the “Voice of McDonald’s” program, which is basically an American Idol with a Golden Arches twist. The top 16 singers (each gets a plus one) receive an all-expenses paid trip to the McDonald’s Global Convention in Orlando, Florida, to compete against one another for the winning title — and a prize of $25,000 and a possible recording contract.

Fun aside, the company ensures that all employees receive fair treatment. In the UK, McDonald’s has partnered with Job Centre Plus to provide jobs for long-term unemployed applicants and with Remboy, which helps disabled and disadvantaged unemployed citizens. “This company cares about people — developing them, training them and giving them the tools to do their job confidently and effectively. There’s a great training system, and also a clear focus of where we are and where we are going,” an employee says.

• Kimberly-Clark -

             Headquarters: Irving, TX, USA
             2010 Revenue ($ millions): 19,700
             Rank: 9

             What makes it so great?

There’s no better place to have a conversation than over a cup of coffee — and the management teams at Kimberly-Clark offices in Central America get that. At the “KC Café,” employees can chat with administrative and operational employees about worries, cares, and career advice. A different leader hosts the initiative once every two months, hoping to break down the walls between boss and employee.

The same offices host an annual Mother’s Day celebration, rewarding its mom-employees with a catered breakfast and, in 2010, a “spa” with food, drinks, and gifts. The company also offers onsite child-care and job sharing, making parenting a bit easier for KC workers. According to an employee, this healthy and happy environment is also common in the offices: “People are transparent; problems are solved in the moment, which prevents comments in the hallways — and resentment.”

• SC Johnson -

             Headquarters: Racine, WI, USA
             2010 Revenue ($ millions): 8,800
             Rank: 10

             What makes it so great?

Ever wonder if you made the wrong decision with your career, but you’re too afraid to take a risk and dip your toes in some other options? If you work at SC Johnson Canada, that’s not a problem. They actually let you try out jobs in different areas of the company for three to six months through their Internal Internship Program. Once your internship is complete, you’re free to return to your original position and, if a position opens up that requires similar skills acquired during the internship, you are free to apply.

The “Family Company” also implemented a rule in their Italian bureau that stays true to the work/life balance they promote: Directors and managers cannot call meetings before 9:30 in the morning and cannot hold a meeting after 5:00 in the afternoon, so employees can drop-off/pick-up their kids from school.

Source :- http://finance.yahoo.com

Related articles

• Microsoft the ‘Best Multinational Employer’ (news.dice.com)
• The World’s 25 Best Multinational Workplaces (money.usnews.com)

Now that over 4 million consumers have had a weekend with the new iPhone 4S, the user reviews are rolling in fast. Though no one has reported a major reception problem akin to the “death grip” on the iPhone 4, and though feedback has been mostly positive, the iPhone 4S isn’t without its flaws.

Though largely minor, here are the most notable disappointments and complaints that users have been reporting with the iPhone 4S. And if you’ve been having any troubles you don’t see here, make sure to tell us all about it in the comments.

• Slow Data Speed On Sprint - Sprint reportedly paid a hefty sum to get the iPhone on its network, and early reports say that it might be buckling under the weight of all those new Apple phones. MacRumors points to a thread on the Sprint community website overrun by Sprint customers complaining about laughably slow 3G speeds with their iPhone 4S’s. It makes sense: In PC Mag’s national speed tests, Sprint’s 3G network consistently under-performed compared to the 3G networks of AT&T and Verizon; for Sprint, that unicorn of a 4G LTE iPhone can’t come soon enough.

• Activation Issues On AT&T - AT&T customers reported widespread difficulty activating their iPhone 4S’s on Friday and through the weekend. Reports varied as to whose fault it was — whether the AT&T network couldn’t handle the heavy load of activations, or if an Apple system issue caused the trouble. Whatever it was, many AT&T customers had a rocky first few days with their new iPhones.

• Weak Battery Performance - Perhaps the most persistent complaint about the iPhone 4S is that the battery life is quite poor compared to that of the iPhone 4; a comprehensive review at iLounge showed that Apple’s promises for stronger battery life on the iPhone 4S were a bit overzealous, as the 4S performed weaker than the iPhone 4 under most metrics (MacRumors puts this in graph form, above). Now, it isn’t clear whether this is due to the device’s hardware (perhaps the more heavy-duty A5 processor), Siri, or the new combo of the Notification Center, iCloud and Find Friends app; whatever it is, users have been reporting weaker battery performance on the iPhone 4S all over.

• Siri Can’t Understand Strong Accents - Siri is still in beta, and while it is adding several languages in the future, for now it can only respond to English, French and German. For non-native English speakers and for iPhone 4S owners in Wales and Scotland, Siri has proven to be frustrating, as the voice recognition feature struggles to recognize heavily-accented speech. Above, check out one Scotsman’s struggles with Siri.

• Screen Tint Issues - Several users have taken to the Apple Support forums to complain about “screen tint” issues. Apparently the colors appear much less sharp on some iPhone 4S devices, when compared to the iPhone 4. An early review from tech site This Is My Next noted this difference, too, saying that, at the very least, the new contrast was better for viewing darker content; overall, however, This Is My Next agreed with users that the iPhone 4S is more “green-tinted and “washed-out” than the previous generation iPhone.

• No International Support For Siri - If you were hoping to use Siri for local search, roadway directions or even look up the time while traveling (or living) outside the United States, you’re out of luck. As of now, Siri can only give local information inside America; as a screenshot at Apple blog TUAW shows, Siri “can only look for businesses in the United States.” International support for Siri should be coming in 2012, according to the Apple website.

• Problems With The Camera - Much work was done to get the iPhone’s Camera to open faster on the 4S, but several threads have been started on Apple’s Support forums bemoaning the iPhone 4S camera’s functionality. Though the iPhone camera can certainly take beautiful photos when it works, many users are reporting that the shutter won’t open after the camera is launched. The infamously-slow iPhone camera shutter appears to be victimizing more would-be photographers on the iPhone 4S.

• Siri Not Working At All - Yep, it’s definitely in beta: Beyond having accent-recognition troubles, and beyond not working outside the United States, Siri hasn’t been responsive at all for some. Several outlets have been reporting that Siri has been unable to connect to a network, either over 3G or Wi-Fi, perhaps due to the crush of new users attempting to use Siri from the get-go. Siri, find a network a connection!

Related articles

• Fix Siri’s “I’m Not Able to Connect Right Now” Error on the iPhone 4S [Troubleshooting] (lifehacker.com)
• Feature: iPhone 4S: A Siri-ously slick, speedy smartphone (arstechnica.com)

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Data monitoring and analysis firm Experian has released the results of a study examining the Facebook habits of users in eight countries across the globe.

Experian examined the users’ visits to the social network and determined how long the average Facebook session lasted in each country, as well as the percentage of each country’s internet traffic that was seen to visit social networking sites. While some of the countries studied also appear on lists of countries shown to have the most Facebook users, an Experian rep told the Huffington Post that this study analyzed Facebook usage only in countries where Experian’s online intelligence service, Hitwise, operates.

Based on Experian’s data, Facebook visits around the world range from 18 to 38 minutes long. The country whose citizens are the stingiest with their Facebook time (see slideshow), spend less than half as many minutes on the social networking site as the nation with the longest Facebook visits. Somewhat surprisingly, considering that it’s the birthplace of Facebook, Americans spend relatively little time social networking. Perhaps, after almost 8 years of commenting, poking, tagging, and de-tagging the novelty has worn off. According to Inside Facebook, six million U.S. users left the social network in May alone.

If Facebook’s growth is indeed bginning to slow in countries where it experienced strong growth in its early years, the same definitely cannot be said for countries that are new to the site. Facebook went global in 2006, opening up to anyone over 13, and now 75 percent of its users live outside of the United States. India has seen the most explosive Facebook growth and is expected to have the second largest Facebook user base in the world by 2012, according to Indian business blog Trak.in. And advertisers have taken notice. In recent years, advertisers in India have increased their Facebook ad spending by 40 percent.

In Experian’s press release accompanying the study, the company notes that the implications of their study could be especially interesting to advertisers. Knowing this information, a company may choose to spend more resources on Facebook marketing in countries where each visit is relatively long.

Here the List -

• Singapore - Average length of Facebook visit: 38 mins 46 sec. Percentage of internet visits that go to social networking sites: 16.4

• New Zealand - Average length of Facebook visit: 30 mins 31 sec . Percentage of Internet visits that go to social networking sites: 13.9

• Australia - Average length of Facebook visit: 26 mins 27 sec. Percentage of Internet visits that go to social networking sites: 13.1

• United Kingdom - Average length of Facebook visit: 25 mins 33 sec.Percentage of Internet visits that go to social networking sites: 12.2

• France - Average length of Facebook visit: 21 mins 53 sec. Percentage of Internet visits that go to social networking sites: 15.1

• United States - Average length of Facebook visit: 20 mins 46 sec. Percentage of Internet visits that go to social networking sites: 15.4

• India - Average length of Facebook visit: 20 mins 21 sec. Percentage of Internet visits that go to social networking sites: 14.0

• Brazil - Average length of Facebook visit: 18 mins 19 sec. Percentage of Internet visits that go to social networking sites: 18.9

Related articles

• Singaporeans spend the most time per visit on Facebook (survey)f (zdnet.com)
• Facebook time is tops abroad, with Singapore No. 1 (news.cnet.com)
• REPORT: Longest Facebook Sessions Are In Singapore (allfacebook.com)

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Pando Networks, a company specializing in delivering large quantities of online information to other companies, has released its most recent Global Internet Speed Study, which ranks 224 countries on their internet speed and download completion rate.

The findings are based on the data from 27 million downloads by 20 million computers between January and June of 2011.

According to the report, the worldwide average download speed is 580KBps, which places the U.S. in 26th place at 616KBps. However, provider matters. In a press release, Pando reveals that in the U.S., Verizon customers enjoy average download speeds of 1,056KBps, much higher than the national average, but still only half as swift as the fastest country on the list.

The top 15 is dominated by Asia, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia, with Eastern Europe making a surprisingly strong showing. Although, according to Ars Technica, this is perhaps not so surprising considering the recent push towards lightening fast broadband in countries like Lithuania (#4 on the list).

As Pando CEO Robert Levitan states in a press release:

The disparities we found were striking. While, in general, developed economies outpaced the developing world in average download speeds, big names such as the US, UK, France, China and Canada were not even close to being the fastest. Instead, we saw high speeds in markets such as Eastern Europe where focus on infrastructural development and favorable geography promote a higher level of connectivity.

Check out below to find out which countries topped Pando’s Global Internet Speed list in 2011.

• South Korea - Average Connection Speed: 2,202 Kbits/second

• Romania - Average Connection Speed: 1,909 Kbits/second

• Bulgaria - Average Connection Speed: 1,611 Kbits/second

• Lithuania - Average Connection Speed: 1,463 Kbits/second

• Latvia - Average Connection Speed: 1,377 Kbits/second

• Japan - Average Connection Speed: 1,364 Kbits/second

• Sweden - Average Connection Speed: 1,234 Kbits/second

• Ukraine - Average Connection Speed: 1,190 Kbits/second

• Denmark - Average Connection Speed: 1,020 Kbits/second

• Hong Kong - Average Connection Speed: 992 Kbits/second

• Netherlands - Average Connection Speed: 934 Kbits/second

• Finland - Average Connection Speed: 917 Kbits/second

• Moldova - Average Connection Speed: 915 Kbits/second

• Taiwan - Average Connection Speed: 860 Kbits/second

• Norway - Average Connection Speed: 801 Kbits/second

Related articles

• A Look At Who’s Winning The Global Internet Speed Race [Infographic] (techcrunch.com)
• South Korea tops in Internet download speed: study (physorg.com)
• Which Country Has the World’s Fastest Internet? [INFOGRAPHIC] (mashable.com)
• The World’s Average Download Speed is 580KBps [Information Superhighway] (kotaku.com)
• Broadband Lessons From Eastern Europe for Africa (blogs.wsj.com)

Image via CrunchBase

The Web has a winner: Facebook.

According to new research from Nielsen’s “The Social Media Report,” American Internet users now devote more time to Facebook than any other website, spending a total of 53.5 billion minutes a month on the world’s largest social networking site.

This is far ahead of sites like Blogger, to which Americans cumulatively devote 723 million minutes a month, Twitter, which receives 565 million minutes of users’ time per month and LinkedIn, on which claims 325 million minutes per month. Yahoo, the second most popular web brand overall, receives just half as much time of users’ time as Facebook (Americans spent 17.2 billion minutes on the site), followed by Google (12.5 billion minutes, which does not include the 9.1 billion minutes people spent on YouTube).

Facebook announced earlier this year that it had surpassed 750 million users and Google’s DoubleClick ad planner reported that Facebook had reached 1 trillion monthly page views, a disputed number that one analytics company pegged closer to 467 billion.

Yet Nielsen gave the blog platform Tumblr the equivalent of a nod for “most likely to succeed,” noting that the “emerging social network” increased grew its audience three-fold in a year. Tumblr also recently celebrated its 10 billionth post, just a year after reaching its 1 billionth.

Nielsen’s report tracked both the popularity of social networking sites, as well as usage patterns among Americans online.

Users devote more time to social media and blogs than to online games, email and search combined, Nielsen found: 22.5 percent of the time people spend online is given over to sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Blogger; 9.8 percent is spent playing games online; 7.6 is spent on email; and 4 percent on search.

Though social networking apps are the third most popular mobile application category, behind games and weather-related apps, 37 percent of users said they consume social media via their phones–by comparison, a full 97 percent use their PCs.

The research also found some notable differences in the ways varying demographics use social media sites. Women, who Nielsen said “make up the majority of visitors to social networks and blogs,” and users between 18 and 34 years-old were highlighted as the “most active social networkers.”

Women account for 62 percent of Facebook’s page views, Nielsen wrote, adding that men are “more likely to visit LinkedIn and Wikia.” Female Internet users also watch more online videos than men, but men spend more time (247 million minutes per month) watching video online than women (226 million minutes per month).

Social networking users make up a lion’s share of all adults online. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project’s August 2011 report, for the first time, more than half of all adult Internet users (65 percent) now use social networks.

Read Nielsen’s full report–which includes more on mobile usage, how active social networkers behave online, and much more–here.

Source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Related articles

• Nielsen Releases Their “State of the Media: The Social Media Report” (blogworld.com)
• Social Networks and Blogs Take Up Most of Our Internet Time (marketingpilgrim.com)
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Brand Finance, a consulting agency specializing in brand valuation, has released its “Brand Finance Global 100” report ranking the world’s most valuable brands.

This annual list is compiled to supplement the “Brand Finance Global 500,” which was released back in March. To create its ranking, the agency evaluates companies and awards points based on a brand value index, which is defined as “a benchmarking study of the strength, risk and future potential of a brand relative to its competitor set as well as a brand value: a summary measure of the financial strength of the brand.”

We won’t give away the most valuable brand (you’ll have to view the slideshow to find out), but we will say that it’s a tech company that ranked first in both the United States and the rest of the world in Brand Finance’s previous release. The new report also reflects several big changes that have taken place since earlier in 2011.

An examination of U.S. technology an IT companies, for example, showed that Apple’s brand value has grown most notably in the past six months, according to Brand Finance. “Apple’s value rose 33% making the brand more valuable than rival Microsoft for the first time,” writes the study. “Apple’s success can be attributed to its innovative design, loyal consumer base and well-executed marketing activities. Naturally there is speculation about how the brand will be impacted by Steve Jobs recent resignation. However with a culture of innovation across the whole business, the brand is likely to continue to hold a strong.”

Though Brand Finance currently ranks Apple as the second most valuable brand in the U.S. (and in the world), a separate study released in May 2011 by global brands agency Millward Brown placed Apple at the top of its most valuable list. In August, Apple briefly surpassed Exxon to become the most valuable company in the U.S., in terms of market capitalization. Here the list :-

1. Google
2. Apple
3. Microsoft
4. IBM
5. Intel
6. Amazon
7. Oracle
8. Dell
9. eBay

Source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

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