Associated Press

Social networking is still the fastest-growing active social media behaviour online, but there is “clear fatigue in Facebook usage and stalling Twitter growth”, says a leading global web survey.

GlobalWebIndex, the world’s most detailed global insight study into consumer behaviour online, carried out its most recent research last November.

A total of 59 percent of global internet users manage their social network profile on a monthly basis. This is followed by updating a micro-blog (24 percent) and uploading video (27 percent). Monthly forum contribution is declining, with a figure of 32 percent, while blog writing stagnated at 27 percent.

The most social engaged internet market in the world is China, where 84 percent of internet users contribute at least once a month to either social networking, blogging, video uploading, photo sharing, micro-blogging and forums. Next are Russia, Brazil and India, demonstrating how Bric markets dominate the social landscape.

In the UK the figure stood at 64 percent, in the US 60 percent and in Germany 52 percent, showing that in less social markets, contributing online is still mainstream.

GlobalWebIndex said the number of visits to Facebook continues to grow across all platforms but the world’s largest social network has reached saturation among active internet users in many markets, with user growth restricted to growing internet markets such as India, Indonesia and Brazil.

“More importantly across three waves of research in 2011, Facebook users on a global basis have reduced the frequency of key Facebook activities, including sending a digital present, searching for new contacts or sending messages to friends.”

Latest data shows Facebook fatigue spreading in the US from the early adopters who were identified in previous research less than a year ago as “disengaging”.

“Declines were evident in social networking activity – such as messaging friends, which fell 12 percent over the six waves of research; searching for new contacts which fell 17 percent and joining a group which fell 19 percent among all Facebook users in the US,” said GlobalWebIndex.

However, it was noted that “social networking can now deliver mass reach for brands”.

While branded websites are still the primary brand engagement point for consumers online, nearly a third are engaging brands through social media, proving the value of having brands on social media.

The survey added: “Consumers that interact with businesses in the social media space do expect something in return with future discounts, better customer service and personalised recommendations cited by all age groups as the leading motivations. Such expectations are significantly higher in emerging markets with Argentina, Philippines and Brazil indexing highest across a range of areas, demonstrating how consumers in these markets are particularly open to building relationships with brands online.”

GlobalWebIndex also remarked on “Googopoly”– because “Google has evolved into the gatekeeper of the internet. Google has massively improved its position as the world’s biggest controller of information and is starting to dominate all access points to the internet. Its core search product reaches more than 85 percent of global internet users every month.”

Other evidence of Googopoly includes the growth of Chrome – it’s now the most widely used browser in the Philippines, Turkey, Argentina and India among others – and significant growth of Android. Android is now the leading platform in developed mobile markets such as South Korea, Sweden, US and Spain.

“Our data also shows the massive growth of Google+, which is already the world’s second biggest social network.”

GlobalWebIndex said the “post-PC era” is coming “ever closer… our data suggests that internet users are more than ever willing to swop their laptop for their e-reader, mobile or TV to access such services”.

Current numbers indicate that 74 percent use their personal PC or laptop as their favourite device for internet access but that only 47 percent expect this to be the case in a year’s time.

Mobile internet use continues to grow, notably in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Globally, 33 percent of mobile usage is primarily at home; 23 percent while travelling; 28 percent in public places; and 17 percent at work.

Mobile internet usage has grown dramatically in Bric countries with continued growth in mobile usage for activities such as reading the news, accessing social networks and searching for a local product or service. More than 250 million people looked for news via a mobile or tablet in Bric markets, compared to more than 400 million for the most popular PC activity, using webmail.

“Increasingly, there is no digital divide for content and consumers are becoming device-agnostic. For marketers this means more focus on the content type and not the device.”

GlobalWebIndex went on: “Digital can no longer be seen as a separate ‘media’ as consumers globally are transitioning media consumption across multiple internet platforms in record numbers.”

This is particularly marked in TV, which is now being consumed at higher levels than music online. In the US, for example, while 90 percent of internet users watch an hour of TV a day, 27 percent also watch on-demand TV online, 10 percent stream live TV online and 8 percent stream live TV to their mobiles on a monthly basis.

Tom Smith, managing director of GlobalWebIndex, said the latest research shows “increasing fragmentation of the global internet”.

“Thanks to social media, consumers in emerging, fast-growing internet markets such as Brazil, China, India or Indonesia are contributing more online than ever before, leaving behind traditional markets such as the UK, US and Germany. This is creating a more localised internet, where each market has a different behaviour type, relationship with brands and attitudes towards the role of the internet. The concept that the internet would drive a singular global culture is false. Brands and content producers will need ever more localised strategies.”

 

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EXAMPLE – There is one prominent Facebook group where one member had an inappropriate picture and the administrator could not remove them. You can imagine the massive embarrassment it was causing to the group and the tarnishing of the brand for the group and company with such a picture. In this example the new member to the group had immediately adjusted their settings after joining the group and the administrator try as he might,  could not remove him from the group.  Be very careful who you add to your group, especially the open groups.

HOW – How did the group member become invisible? I have no idea. Neither does the group administrator for the group in question. Hopefully this is a bug that Facebook can quickly fix.

ALL GROUPS – I do not know if this Facebook bug or problem affects all types of groups (Open and Closed groups) or is a random problem or it just applies to specific types of groups.

MORE INFO – In the example above which was an open group, the guilty group member was visible to other ordinary group members but not the group administrator. To fix this the administrator appointed someone else as a admin on a temporary basis. The new admin was able to see the guilty group member and remove them. Have you had any problem with Facebook groups. I would love to hear from you. Send your comments please.

A very BIG thank you to Max Guadagnoli, power networker and marketing guru for all his help regarding the Facebook groups.

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I continue to use Facebook and must say I am quite delighted that Google may be on to something  with their latest foray into Social Media? Why would I be delighted by Google Plus. After the demise of Google Buzz and Wave I was very curious to see what Google would come up with.

BALANCE NEEDED- As impressive as Facebook might be with over 750 million users, it is beginning to wield a lot of influence, perhaps too much for the good of the users.  There have been a number of concerns over the years with Facebook most notably privacy.  Facebook has been trying to share more information about its users while privacy-conscious users are pushing back as expected.

MONOPOLY IN CHECK- I think it would be fair to say that Facebook is close to a monopoly in the personal social networking space.  By monopoly I simply mean that there may be excessive control by the company. In a monopoly customers do not get the best deal as they have no viable alternative. We have seen this in many markets especially those with high barriers to entry like telecommunications where customers endure poor service as they have no alternative. Remember what happened in the 1990s when the promising Netscape was neutered by Microsoft. Innovation in that space screeched to a halt. With Windows Explorer, Microsoft had a dominant market share and probably rested on their laurels. Now they are paying the price as there are many excellent alternatives to Window Explorer. Microsoft has responded by improving it’s own offering but was too late for many customers who had to endure many years with a product that could have been better.

INNOVATION – My hope is that Google Plus will continue to grow till it reaches say at least 200 million and 300 million. Facebook has already made it difficult for its users to export contacts to Google Plus. However, Facebook will have to do much more than this to keep people from moving to a network with so many users. They will have to innovate, something that Apple has done so well over the years. Things are by no means decided with Google Plus. Google will have to prove that they have got it right this time.

As highlighted earlier more competition will likely lead to more  innovation as Google Plus seeks to make a compelling case to potential users while Facebook seeks to keep it’s crown. Imagine what would happen if Google Plus were to fail in being a viable alternative to Facebook? Combine that scenario with a Facebook that might at some stage have over 1 billion users. What would happen to Innovation? Who would be able to compete with a cash-flush Facebook of such a size?

BIGGER NOT ALWAYS BETTER – I am pretty sure that Facebook reaching a 1 billion users will be  good reason to celebrate the company. However, what will the operations and quality of service like for such a huge company? Will Facebook have sufficient resources to ensure an excellent experience for me, just one of their billion users. The tension between quality and quantity is ever present in business. The more companies push for quantity the more likely that quality of service will be negatively affected, generally speaking. How does Google Plus come into this? I am hoping that Google Plus will limit and keep in check the growth of Facebook and I guess that Facebook will do it’s best to hang on to the users it already has.

For the few reasons given above, I am more than happy to see Google Plus growing in leaps and bounds. Facebook will not just stand idly by enjoying the show. The company will flex it’s own muscles and probably improve my experience as a user in the process. Google Plus is good for me as a Facebook user.

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According to the Facebook page for BeKnown, the application will help you with the following:

• BeKnown makes it easy to expand your professional network with colleagues and friends—right here on Facebook.
• Plus, BeKnown keeps your professional connections separate from your Facebook friends (so you don’t have to worry about your boss seeing the photos you posted on Facebook of your crazy weekend in Vegas).
• Earn badges. Get skill endorsements. Search companies and find jobs through your network. You can even help your friends find jobs. With BeKnown, now you can manage your professional network without ever leaving Facebook!

Monster is quite late to the game of professional networking, seeing as BranchOut already has more than 700,000 users using the application.  There are other applications besides BranchOut. However, BranchOut seems to be the most prominent at this time. For a company like Monster –  a pioneer in its field, it was was the first public job search on the Internet having the first public resume database in the world and the first to have job search agents or job alerts, to create an application for Facebook can be seen as an acknowledgement that the recruitment world, the game is changing.

At the time of writing this article BeKnown already had 45,922 fans on its Facebook page and over 90 reviews with an overall  3.9 out 5 rating which is very good. Given that it’s only been a few days since the application was launched, this is very impressive. Things happen very quickly in the social media world.  A random sampling of comments showed that some users were very happy with the application while others were experiencing teething problems.

Monster has a few factors in its favour with its late start. Being late to the game can sometimes be an advantage especially in the Firstly it is a strong and readily recognisable brand technology industry where companies sometimes spend lots of capital on research and development before they strike gold with a winning concept or invention. The first to the party is not always the winner. MySpace, Palm and several other companies can testify to this.

Another factor going for it is that by taking it’s time to get an application for Facebook, it does not have to start from scratch. Monster has some serious volumes on the database with over a million job postings at any time and over 150 million resumes in the database (2008) and over 63 million job seekers per month according to Wikipedia. The company employs approximately 5,000 employees in 36 countries and with such a presence already, pushing out the new application will not be too difficult.

BeKnown has incorporated some of the great features from current professional networking sites with the aim of providing a better experience. These features include the ability to get endorsements, professional network statistics, inviting connections from other social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn as well as contacts from Gmail. Some of the other networks might have taken time to come up with all these features but with BeKnown, they are introduced in one go. Reading through all the features of BeKnown, it seems like a hybrid of LinkedIn and  BranchOut with features from other social networks.

The professional networking app space promises to be very competitive and very interesting. Watch this space.

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The huge jump in users on BranchOut was attributed to some re-design and tweaking by the app developers. When BranchOut first came out there were complaints that it had a number of SPAM-like features that irritated users and some of the questions were not professional. It is amazing what a few changes can do.

With Facebook’s total users under 700 million users at the time of writing, BranchOut will definitely tap into this growth. Having spent some time on BranchOut, it has a number of features very similar to LinkedIn like endorsements, network statistics (that tell you how many people you are connected to and how deep your network is), news feeds from your network’s activity on BranchOut and suggestions of people that you could connect with.  There is still room for improvement and great potential on BranchOut.

Counting against BranchOut is that Facebook is still viewed by many people as a personal space area where professional stuff should not be discussed. I see the lines blurring more and more between the personal and professional aspects of our lives which I think will benefit Facebook applications like BranchOut. 2011 is going to be an interesting year with regards to professional social networks.

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WHY – One way that people create duplicate addresses by mistake is that sometimes they get invitations to connect on LinkedIn on more than one email address. When they accept invitations a second profile can be set up.

HOW TO ADD NE W EMAIL ADDRESS – To add another email address to your LinkedIn Account, please do the following: Go to SETTINGS (this is by your name. Just move your mouse by your name on the top right hand part of screen and you will see the settings option.)  On the first screen which shows your name and type of account, click on CHANGE next to PRIMARY EMAIL. On the next screen, simply add the new email address you would like to register and select ADD NEW EMAIL ADDRESS. LinkedIn will then send you an email to confirm that new email address.

PREVENT – To prevent this from happening, simply add your various email addresses to LinkedIn. This way regardless of where you accept invitations from, no second profile is created.

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WHY – Why should you correct your mistakes in comments in the LinkedIn Group discussions? You might not think it is a big deal if you misspell something but actually it is.  Remember this is your brand we are talking about. People get impressions after reading your comments. So if you can make mistakes of this nature in a group that could be viewed by hundreds of people, if not thousands, how would you tackle other things like work for instance. Maybe we are going overboard here but impressions matter!

TIME TO AMEND – Have you noticed that when you make a comment in group discussions, LinkedIn now gives you some time to amend or correct your comment if necessary? In the past you could only add something after the original comment but could not actually amend within the comment itself.  The original comment would then appear together with the correction afterwards. You would be forever reminded of the mistake you made each time you looked at that comment. Now you get a good 15 minutes to fix your comment.

Hope you have a fantastic week. – Your LinkedIn Coach

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There are 1,102,536  LinkedIn users in South Africa

413,289 – men
320,387 – women

LinkedIn Usage in South Africa
LinkedIn is the 11th most popular site in South Africa based on a combination of average daily visitors and pageviews. 1.3% of the LinkedIn users come from South Africa and they generate 1.2% of the pageviews on LinkedIn. (sourced from AppAppeal website)

Ages
18 to 24 years : 69,853 members
25 to 34 years : 100,375 members
35 to 54 years : 84,975 members
55+ years : 15,948 members

Largest South African Group on LinkedIn
Johannesburg Business Club
About group : A networking community for business professionals working in Johannesburg, South Africa / This network is powered by Africa Business Communities – www.africabusinesscommunities.com
3,104 members
Created in June, 2008
Type of group : Networking group

Companies on LinkedIn
At least 11,854 companies on LinkedIn with headquarters in South Africa
35 of these companies are hiring via LinkedIn
The industries with the most companies on LinkedIn in South Africa are Information Technology, Marketing and Advertising, Management Consulting and Financial Services.

Major Banks on LinkedIn
Standard Bank - 8,627 Employees on LinkedIn, 10,332 LinkedIn Followers
Absa Bank – 6,936 Employees on LinkedIn, 7,688 LinkedIn Followers
Nedbank – 5,987 Employees on LinkedIn, 5,820 LinkedIn Followers
First National Bank – 452 Employees on LinkedIn, 720 LinkedIn Followers
Investec – 2,150 Employees on LinkedIn, 2,945 LinkedIn Followers
Capitec – 354 Employees on LinkedIn, 494 LinkedIn followers

Major Telecommunication companies
Vodacom - 3,735 Employees on LinkedIn, 4,167 LinkedIn Followers
MTN – 4,129 Employees on LinkedIn, 5,618 LinkedIn Followers
Telkom – 3,426 Employees on LinkedIn, 4,079 LinkedIn Followers
Cell C – 1,62 Employees on LinkedIn, 1,455 LinkedIn Followers

Analysis of my South African network

• 65,097 Members in South Africa with the keyword DIRECTOR in their LinkedIn Profile
• 20,113 Members in South Africa with the keyword SENIOR MANAGER in their LinkedIn Profile
• 176,236 Members in South Africa with the keyword MANAGER in their LinkedIn Profile
• 64,708 Members in South Africa with the keyword CONSULTANT in their LinkedIn Profile

For your LinkedIn Coaching needs  get in touch with Chess Plains Coaching. You can reach the coach on +27 72 385 8520.

Disclaimer – This information is not endorsed or verified by LinkedIn for completeness and accuracy. It has been produced using my own analysis and network on LinkedIn. Use information at your own risk.

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