Despite personal opinions and individual usage, we all know Social Media is a powerful and ever-growing and ever-changing beast. However, I firmly believe the power of social media that we DO know, is a micro-fraction of what it will become. Despite the “I’m sitting on the porch” tweets so aptly portrayed in a recent cell phone commercial, most users are shifting away from the trendy and moving towards the value of new communication.

I was referred to a blog article by my long time friend and brother in-law @kevinvonqualen that begins to profile the faces behind the cell phones, TweetDecks & netbooks. A recent 30 day study in August 2009 reveals that the majority of users are aged 35-44, not teenagers, as we’ve been accustomed to believing and most users appear to be from the middle class. What is most interesting is that usage is spread amongst a variety of age groups and educational backgrounds, with no overwhelming shift towards a single group. These figures assume, Social Media is not designed or used for, or by, a specific demographic, yet, these individuals are collectively redefining the way we communicate.

An excerpt from www.briansolis.com

Data: August 2009

All stats are from Google Ad Planner unless otherwise noted

30-day traffic, (U.S., Worldwide)

Unique Visitors – 24 M, 66 M
Reach – 10.1%, 5.1%
Page views – 2.1 B, 4B
Total visits – 270 M, 550 M
Avg visits per visitor – 11, 8.3
Avg time on site – 12:10, 11:40

Gender
Male: 43%
Female: 57%

Age

0 – 17: 11%
18 – 24: 8%
25 – 34: 16%
35 – 44: 29%
45 – 54: 20%
55 – 64: 11%
65 or more: 3%

Household Income

$0 – $24,999: 13%
$25,000 – $49,999: 30%
$50,000 – $74,999: 27%
$75,000 – $99,999: 16%
100,000 – $149,999: 10%
$150,000 or More: 4%

Children in Household

Yes: 28%
No: 72%

Education

Less than HS diploma: 12%
High School: 9%
Some College: 47%
Bachelors Degree: 24%
Graduate Degree: 8%

–

30-day traffic, (U.S., Worldwide)

Unique Visitors – 110 M, 370 M
Reach – 45.6%, 28.8%
Page views – 52 B, 160 B
Total visits – 3.1 B, 8.7 B
Avg visits per visitor – 28,23
Avg time on site – 20:00, 23:20s

Gender
Male: 43%
Female: 57%

Age

0 – 17: 18%
18 – 24: 7%
25 – 34: 14%
35 – 44: 20%
45 – 54: 24%
55 – 64: 12%
65 or more: 4%

Household Income

$0 – $24,999: 7%
$25,000 – $49,999: 22%
$50,000 – $74,999: 36%
$75,000 – $99,999: 18%
100,000 – $149,999: 12%
$150,000 or More: 5%

Children in Household

Yes: 36%
No: 64%

Education

Less than HS diploma: 22%
High School: 14%
Some College: 36%
Bachelors Degree: 20%
Graduate Degree: 8%

–

30-day traffic, (U.S., Worldwide)

Unique Visitors – 1.2 M, 4.6 M
Reach – 0.5%, 0.4%
Page views – 31 M, 97 M
Total visits – 7.2M, 21 M
Avg visits per visitor – 6, 4.6
Avg time on site – 6:50, 6:50

Gender
Male: 48%
Female: 52%

Age

0 – 17: 3%
18 – 24: 7%
25 – 34: 20%
35 – 44: 36%
45 – 54: 16%
55 – 64: 14%
65 or more: 3%

Household Income

$0 – $24,999: 22%
$25,000 – $49,999: 29%
$50,000 – $74,999: 16%
$75,000 – $99,999: 20%
100,000 – $149,999: 8%
$150,000 or More: 5%

Children in Household

Yes: 11%
No: 89%

Education

Less than HS diploma: 4%
High School: 7%
Some College: 43%
Bachelors Degree: 32%
Graduate Degree: 14%

–

30-day traffic, (U.S., Worldwide)

Unique Visitors – 9 M, 23 M
Reach – 3.9%, 1.8%
Page views – 230 M, 410 M
Total visits – 53 M, 98 M
Avg visits per visitor – 5.9, 4.2
Avg time on site – 7:30, 6:50

Gender
Male: 64%
Female: 36%

Age

0 – 17: 11%
18 – 24: 9%
25 – 34: 18%
35 – 44: 29%
45 – 54: 18%
55 – 64: 10%
65 or more: 4%

Household Income

$0 – $24,999: 14%
$25,000 – $49,999: 28%
$50,000 – $74,999: 25%
$75,000 – $99,999: 20%
100,000 – $149,999: 10%
$150,000 or More: 4%

Children in Household

Yes: 22%
No: 78%

Education

Less than HS diploma: 15%
High School: 10%
Some College: 39%
Bachelors Degree: 27%
Graduate Degree: 9%

–

30-day traffic, (U.S., Worldwide)

Unique Visitors – 19 M, 73 M
Reach – 8.3%, 5.7%
Page views – 1 B, 3 B
Total visits – 94 M, 280 M
Avg visits per visitor – 4.9, 3.8
Avg time on site – 8:00, 9:10

Gender
Male: 45%
Female: 55%

Age

0 – 17: 13%
18 – 24: 9%
25 – 34: 19%
35 – 44: 25%
45 – 54: 21%
55 – 64: 11%
65 or more: 3%

Household Income

$0 – $24,999: 12%
$25,000 – $49,999: 27%
$50,000 – $74,999: 29%
$75,000 – $99,999: 18%
100,000 – $149,999: 10%
$150,000 or More: 4%

Children in Household

Yes: 28%
No: 72%

Education

Less than HS diploma: 16%
High School: 11%
Some College: 41%
Bachelors Degree: 23%
Graduate Degree: 9%

–

30-day traffic, (U.S., Worldwide)

Unique Visitors – 14 M, 31 M
Reach – 6.1%, 2.4%
Page views – 800 M, 1.4 B
Total visits – 85 M, 160 M
Avg visits per visitor – 6, 5.1
Avg time on site – 9:40, 9:00

Gender
Male: 50%
Female: 50%

Age

0 – 17: 3%
18 – 24: 3%
25 – 34: 16%
35 – 44: 31%
45 – 54: 28%
55 – 64: 16%
65 or more: 4%

Household Income

$0 – $24,999: 11%
$25,000 – $49,999: 18%
$50,000 – $74,999: 23%
$75,000 – $99,999: 23%
100,000 – $149,999: 16%
$150,000 or More: 10%

Children in Household

Yes: 10%
No: 90%

Education

Less than HS diploma: 4%
High School: 9%
Some College: 34%
Bachelors Degree: 37%
Graduate Degree: 16%

–

30-day traffic, (U.S., Worldwide)

Unique Visitors – 61 M, 120 M
Reach – 26.1%, 9.1%
Page views – 32 B, 39 B
Total visits – 1.2 B, 1.5 B
Avg visits per visitor – 19, 13
Avg time on site – 23:20, 21:40

Gender
Male: 36%
Female: 64%

Age

0 – 17: 34%
18 – 24: 10%
25 – 34: 12%
35 – 44: 16%
45 – 54: 19%
55 – 64: 7%
65 or more: 2%

Household Income

$0 – $24,999: 7%
$25,000 – $49,999: 39%
$50,000 – $74,999: 35%
$75,000 – $99,999: 11%
100,000 – $149,999: 6%
$150,000 or More: 2%

Children in Household

Yes: 57%
No: 43%

Education

Less than HS diploma: 32%
High School: 12%
Some College: 42%
Bachelors Degree: 10%
Graduate Degree: 4%

–

Via Compete.com for June 2009

Unique Monthly Visitors: 78 M
Total Visits: 459 M

Via Quantcast for June 2009

Gender
Male: 50%
Female: 50%

Education
No College: 48%
College: 39%
Grad. School: 13%

Children in Household
Yes: 43%
No: 57%

Household Income
$0 – $30,000: 20%
$30,000 – $60,000: 27%
$60,000 – $100,000: 27%
$100,000+: 27%

Age
13-17: 19%
18-34: 35%
35-49: 24%
50+: 19%

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What are your feelings about Social Media and the direction it is heading? How do you use it to communicate in your business and personal life?