Google Now Boasts World's No. 2 and No. 3 Social Networks

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Google Now Boasts World's No. 2 and No. 3 Social Networks

Posted by samzenpus on Monday January 28, 2013 @08:06AM from the facebook-and-the-rest dept.

redletterdave writes "A new report released Monday revealed that Google+, less than a year and a half after its public debut, is now the No. 2 social network in the world with 343 million active users. Even better for Google, YouTube, which had not previously been tracked as a social network until recently, is now the No. 3 social network in the world with about 300 million active users. Google Plus and YouTube are being used by 25 percent and 21 percent of the global Internet populace, respectively."

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Youtube is more a number 2 by jaymz666 · 2013-01-28 08:07 · Score: 5, Funny

Youtube is more a number 2 in terms of content being dumped out by the commenters
1. Re:Youtube is more a number 2 by sidthegeek · 2013-01-28 09:00 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Normally this would be spam, but the irony of this comment is not lost on me. :-)
Where's /. on that list? by oodaloop · 2013-01-28 08:07 · Score: 3, Funny

42?

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Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
1. Re:Where's /. on that list? by Maxx169 · 2013-01-28 10:50 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Not sure /. is that far behind Digg anymore.
2. Re:Where's /. on that list? by caspy7 · 2013-01-28 12:37 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Not sure /. is that far behind Digg anymore.
  Not sure if *anyone* is behind Digg anymore.
Not much competition by s.petry · 2013-01-28 08:08 · Score: 4, Interesting

Not to belittle what Google has done and purchased, but what other options were and are there? Google was supposed to be more secure than 1 other social network company. It is, though many distrust Google as much as they distrust Facebook when it comes to releasing information to Governments. Youtube was acquired, and for "Movies" and "Videos" was already a healthy and stable company. If it was launched as a social media site, I doubt it would have the depth it does. An alternative would have popped up in my opinion.

--
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
1. Re:Not much competition by Moridineas · 2013-01-28 08:48 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Well there's Orkut...
  Oh wait.
2. Re:Not much competition by BasilBrush · 2013-01-28 09:09 · Score: 2
  
  Well there's Twitter.
  They are claiming that Google+ has more active users than Twitter. Clearly that isn't so, and therefore there's either some gross error in their methodology, or Google is paying them to say that.
3. Re:Not much competition by TechyImmigrant · 2013-01-28 16:22 · Score: 2
  
  I use G+.
  Facebook is for jokes, memes, family stuff. Little of consequence.
  On G+ I interact with the engineers, kernel developers, cryptographers and other work related connections beyond my immediate employer.
  There's a simple work/play divide between G+ and Facebook and that separation is good.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
YouTube users now Google+ users by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-28 08:16 · Score: 5, Informative

Not too long ago, YouTube asked me if I wanted to change my YouTube name to something else.
I thought 'Sure, why not.'
And out of nowhere, I became a Google+ user.
For a couple of months now, they've been tricking YouTube users into getting Google+ accounts.
1. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by Etherized · 2013-01-28 08:25 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It seems as if this is what a lot of "Google+ users" actually are - people who use other google products which have Google+ integration that they trick people into activating. In addition to youtube they do the same trick for Picasa, instant upload on Android, gmail chat, and probably others that I am not aware of.
  I actually like Google+ well enough, but I think their reports of its user base are greatly exaggerated.
2. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by Anubis+IV · 2013-01-28 08:42 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Exactly. Note also that they merely claimed they were "active users", but that what defines a user as "active" is a rather open definition if you go all the way back to the original report ("Used or contributed to in the past month"). If all that is necessary to be considered active is to use a Google service that is linked to your G+ account (e.g. Google search returns personalized results based on links shared by your G+ friends, which are (frustratingly) turned on by default), then more and more people are becoming active users every day without even realizing that they are being counted as such, for precisely the reasons you specified. Google keeps presenting it as a simple account upgrade or transition to a new system, rather than the user signing up for a new account entirely, which is entirely deceptive and unethical.
  Moreover, the idea that there are actually 343M active users on G+ flies in the face of everything most of us know about the network, which is that the place is a virtual ghost town. Claiming that it has roughly half of the active user base of Facebook (343M vs. 693M) simply doesn't ring true and should have sent up a number of red flags for the research group. That YouTube has that many users comes as no surprise. But I don't see how a social network that most people still haven't even heard of can possibly be more popular than the most popular video sharing site that gets linked to and shared every single day, or half as popular as the social network that's used by nearly one in seven people worldwide.
3. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by Zeromous · 2013-01-28 08:43 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Spoken like someone who hasn't been to G+ in eons, thinks beast live there.
  
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  ---Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A START
4. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by bradgoodman · 2013-01-28 08:44 · Score: 2
  
  Absolutley.
  I tried G+ when it first came out. No one I know activley uses it, but everyone has *tried* it. I still get notifications and spam from it from Gmail, etc.
  I don't know if they'd consider me an "active user" or not.
  Unless there is some other parallel universe out there where everyone uses G+ instead of Facebook - I don't trust the numbers. *EVERYONE* I know uses Facebook, and *NO ONE* uses G+. I might be off by a *few* people in this statement - but it's not *much* of an overstatement.
5. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by History's+Coming+To · 2013-01-28 08:47 · Score: 2
  
  You can simply deactivate your G+ account and leave the rest of your services intact, I did exactly that when the real name policy was introduced - it's an overly complicated and nerve-wracking experience however, get it wrong and you can lose a lot of data.
  
  --
  Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
6. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by swillden · 2013-01-28 08:59 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Moreover, the idea that there are actually 343M active users on G+ flies in the face of everything most of us know about the network, which is that the place is a virtual ghost town.
  That depends entirely on who you circle or -- more importantly -- has circled you. It appears to me that the vast majority of Google+ posts are not public.
  Personally, my stream contains far more content than I can possibly keep up with. Only about a third of it is from personal friends or family, though. Most is from communities I'm a member of and various other people and projects I follow. If you're interested in Linux, for example, all of the major developers post on Google+.
  For my usage, I much prefer Google+ to FB. The volume of content on Google+ is lower (but still more than I can actually read), but the quality is much higher. I dumped my FB account a while ago. However, my wife has maintained hers because there are a lot of people in our families who aren't on G+ so she uses FB to follow them, and tells me what I need to know. If I couldn't get that second-hand, I'd probably have to use both.
  
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  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
7. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by blind+biker · 2013-01-28 10:11 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Moreover, the idea that there are actually 343M active users on G+ flies in the face of everything most of us know about the network, which is that the place is a virtual ghost town.
  
  Au contraire, it's a very lively and information-packed place, with all kinds of content and discussions going on all the time, every hour of the day. But hte problem is, nobody is sharing anything with you, because you haven't circled anyone on G+, and/or they haven't circled you back. It's like going to visit your acquaintance Frank, and before even entering you declare his house to be dark, and then go around telling everybody that "Frank's house is so dark". Well yeah, it's dark you douchebag cunt piece of shit cunt, it's dark because you didn't switch on the light, shit-for-brains.
  
  --
  "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
8. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by Omestes · 2013-01-28 13:41 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  None of my real life friends have actually moved to Google+ from Facebook, but oddly, the community on Google+ is better. Less lively, but also less crap (went to the store today... here is a baby picture... here is a 3 year old meme... here is some religion fluff... here is a horoscope... I like poker.).
  Google+ sucks as a network of friends, but its pretty nice for communities. Both the tech/nerd communities, and the photography communities are thriving. Google+ is the new Flickr, and they actively work on it, sponsoring all sorts of events and hangouts, and actively courting popular online personalities. Its paid off. The tech, geek, and science communities are also pretty healthy.
  On Facebook I would never follow/like/whatnot someone who isn't a personal friend. One Google I only follow people who are interesting, even if they are complete strangers. They are pretty much two completely different things.
  
  --
  A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
9. Re:YouTube users now Google+ users by Omestes · 2013-01-28 13:51 · Score: 2
  
  They only have 7300 Likes on Facebook [facebook.com]. Don't you find it a little odd that they have over 136x more of them on G+? I see only a few possibilities:
  Or the networks have very different populations. Google+ is VERY nerd heavy. Facebook is full of "average joes", and your parents.
  G+ has also pretty much supplanted Flickr for the place to post photos and talk to photographers. The photo community there is absolutely huge, and Google actively works within the community. The Linux, tech, and science communities are pretty active too. That said, I don't have a single friend who uses it, and all I really ever post is photos.
  To be honest, though, I wouldn't be surprised if the statistics are true, even if they don't match my anecdotal evidence... 300 million people isn't that much really, given the total population. Also who knows how popular it is outside the US? It might be like Android, #2 in the US, but completely dominating within the global market. Maybe its the most popular social network in India, that would give it easily 300 million users... No clue.
  I'm also sure there is some fudging of numbers. It doesn't matter that much, since Facebook is notorious for doing it as well. Wasn't there am article a while back claiming that 50% of Facebook users weren't real people, or active.
  
  --
  A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
Re:orkut - number 4th? by admdrew · 2013-01-28 08:24 · Score: 3, Informative

No, Twitter is a very strong 4th, and there doesn't appear to be a close 5th. Orkut only has about 33 million active users, which would put it much farther down.

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LegendMUD
Let's define success: Money by schneidafunk · 2013-01-28 08:26 · Score: 2

How much money are they making?

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Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
hydrox by aahpandasrun · 2013-01-28 08:27 · Score: 2, Interesting

This is like saying that Hydrox is the #2 chocolate and cream cookie next to Oreo. It still sucks, and nobody likes it.
And if you weight it by value... by damn_registrars · 2013-01-28 08:30 · Score: 5, Interesting

... then Google+ might be the only relevant social networking site. Facebook, twitter, etc, are still mostly plugged up with people taking pictures of their (coffee / cat / car) or telling you which bathroom they are using this afternoon. Google+ actually has meaningful discussions.

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Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
1. Re:And if you weight it by value... by vlm · 2013-01-28 08:39 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Google+ actually has meaningful discussions.
  FB/twitter for pics of dinner and smiling kids and babbling complaining and TV and sports discussion, G+ for hobbies.
  G+ has HUGE and active ham radio, and photography communities.
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Re:orkut - number 4th? by Githaron · 2013-01-28 08:39 · Score: 4, Informative

I was a Brazil a few weeks ago. From what I saw, it looks like everyone over there is starting to move to Facebook as their dominate social network.
How much is Google+ being used? by parallel_prankster · 2013-01-28 08:40 · Score: 4, Informative

The more important matter is how much are they being used, especially to "socialize" as compared to facebook? I mean Google forces you to be a Google+ user pretty much if you use any of their services - Gmail, Picasa etc. What are the ad revenues on these services? What is the frequency of posts per user?
1. Re:How much is Google+ being used? by paul.hatchman · 2013-01-28 09:50 · Score: 2
  
  Yet somehow, after using multiple google products (including gmail and picasa) on a regular basis for well over 10 years, I still don't have a Google+ account. And I can still use all of those services just fine.
Re:orkut - number 4th? by Bing+Tsher+E · 2013-01-28 11:11 · Score: 2

Look out, you're blowing their cover!