Double dbl: The Forced Social Network

The key data points were 400 million total users and 100 million monthly active users.

Pause for a minute. Twitter only recently hit 500 million registered users and most analysts put twitters monthly actives between 150 and 200 million. Does Google+ feel like it has even a fraction of Twitters adoption?

Twitter is wide spread, has viral growth and is a important part of our culture. News frequently breaks first there. Governments are overthrown as a result of organization that takes place on the platform. Massive companies have been born and killed as a result of Twitter. It is not forced when you include your twitter name on a business card or in a email signature. You put it there without after thought.

Yet, Google+ has none of that. The only mentions you see of G+ are fleeting celebrity endorsements and one-off events heavily coordinated by Google employees (Obama/Dalai Lama/etc). It is when you think of these facts that the true disparity between Google+ and its competitors feels real. It is forced and does not feel natural.

via Double dbl: The Forced Social Network.

Dads Stake Out Their Role in the Household and Online – eMarketer

Dads today are more involved in raising their kids and managing the household than most typical dads of earlier generations. However, many contemporary dads also have an exaggerated sense of how much they really do, according to a new eMarketer report, “How Dads Are Different: Playing a New Role, But Only Up to a Point.” Nonetheless, they are sensitive to their role being undervalued, including by advertisers.

via Dads Stake Out Their Role in the Household and Online – eMarketer.

No Sign of Slowing Web Uptake in India – eMarketer

The percentage of individuals in India who use the internet will remain a small 8.9% this year, according to eMarketer estimates. But given that India holds a population of 1.2 billion people, that fraction translates to a significant number of people going online—107.3 million, to be precise. And consumers in India show no signs of slowing their migration online, according to the August 2012 comScore report, “The Rise of India’s Digital Consumer and What It Means for the Future.”

via No Sign of Slowing Web Uptake in India – eMarketer.

Agencies Bullish on Relationship Between Social and Search

While 33% of companies say that social media marketing (SMM) is “very much part of our search activity,” a much larger 58% of agencies report the same, according to [download page] a September 2012 report from Econsultancy. Some 60% of companies treat social media and search engine marketing (SEM) separately, compared to 35% of agencies. And, while the percentage of companies that treat SMM as integral to SEM is unchanged from 2010, the percentage of agencies that treats social as integral to search has risen 10% points in those 2 years.

via Agencies Bullish on Relationship Between Social and Search.

Almost Half Of Online Americans Share Original Photos, Videos On SocNets

46% of adult American internet users post original photos or videos online that they have created, and 41% repost photos or videos on sites designed for sharing images, according to [download page] September 2012 findings from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Pew calls the first group “creators,” and the second group “curators.”

Women are slightly more likely to be creators than men (48% vs. 45%), as data from “Photos and Videos as Social Currency Online” reveals, and younger Americans are far more likely than older Americans to post their original photos and videos online. The percentage of respondents in each age group who are creators is lowest in the 65+ bracket (29%), followed by the 50-64 demo (28%). By contrast, roughly half of 30-49-year-olds do so, as do about 7 in 10 of the 18-29 group.

via Almost Half Of Online Americans Share Original Photos, Videos On SocNets.

Social Media Proves Value, Gets Budgets – eMarketer

Budgets for social media marketing are on the rise, with both B2B and B2C marketers proving they have generated leads and sales from their social outreach.In its “State of Digital Marketing 2012 Report,” Webmarketing123 found that 52% of US B2C marketers and 41% of US B2B marketers planned to increase their social marketing budgets in 2013, while an additional 46% of B2C and 56% of B2B marketers will keep them the same.

via Social Media Proves Value, Gets Budgets – eMarketer.

In-Store Product Research Influences Most Smartphone Owners’ Decisions

14% of American smartphone owners who have scanned or texted for product information while in-store say they made an unplanned purchase as a result, according to [download page] a September 2012 report from Vibes. Yet, an almost equal proportion (15%) report being dissuaded from making a purchase. Still, a plurality say that the product information they accessed made them feel better about the purchase they planned to make. Only 13% said the information had no impact on their decision.

via In-Store Product Research Influences Most Smartphone Owners’ Decisions.

Message Overload Causes Mobile Users to Unsubscribe From Updates

The leading reason mobile phone users unsubscribe from mobile marketing updates is message overload, according to [download page] a September 2012 report from Vibes. Asked their top reasons for unsubscribing from updates, 69% of mobile phone users and 86% of “showroomers” pointed to too many messages or updates. (Vibes describes a showroom shopper as one who uses a store’s physical location as a showroom for products instead of a place of business.)

via Message Overload Causes Mobile Users to Unsubscribe From Updates.