Mediaboss Marketing

Social networking may have graduated from its infancy as it continues to grow in 2012, according to a study by Nielsen and NM Incite.

The study showed consumers are spending more time on social networks than on any other category of sites, Nielsen noted in its study.

"(C)onsumers continue to spend more time on social networks than on any other category of sites: roughly 20 percent of their total time online via personal computer (PC), and 30 percent of total time online via mobile," it said.

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The study said the recent proliferation of mobile devices and connectivity helped fuel the continued growth of social media.

"While the computer remains as the predominant device for social media access, consumers time spent with social media on mobile apps and the mobile web has increased 63 percent in 2012, compared to the same period last year," it said.

Facebook still on top

The study showed Facebook remains the top social network, but other social media sites are emerging and catching on.

Facebook remains the most-visited social network in the US via PC (152.2 million visitors), mobile apps (78.4 million users) and mobile web (74.3 million visitors).

On the other hand, it said Pinterest emerged as "one of the breakout stars" in social media for 2012, boasting the largest year-over-year increase in both unique audience and time spent of any social network across PC, mobile web and apps.

Continued here:
Social media has grown up, says Nielsen