A new study by Nielsen Online revealed that 66.8% of global Internet users accessed social networking sites in 2008, compared to 65.1% for email. Users also spent 63% more time on online social communities in 2008 than they did in 2007.
Facebook, the top social network in all countries except Brazil, Germany and Japan, saw growth of 566% in time users spent on it. Facebook also saw 12.4 million users aged 35-49 join in 2008 – making "older" users their fastest growing demographic.
Myspace is still in the game, however, and remains the most profitable social network. It generated an estimated $1 billion in revenue last year – compared to Facebook's $300 million.
