Social Media has more eyeballs21 February 2010

According to Compete, Facebook has overtaken Yahoo as the second most popular website in the U.S.  This is the first time there has been a change in the top 3 websites in the U.S. since February 2008.

Google still has the #1 position, but steady continued growth by Facebook could erode that standing.  Facebook grew by 80% from Jan 09 to July 09, and another 8% from July 09 to Jan 10.  Facebook grew 105% in 2009, and took the number one position among social networks for the first time in May 2009.

Despite Google’s firm hold (for now) on the #1 spot, Facebook garners more attention.  In January 2010, 11.6% of all time spent online was spent on Facebook, compared to 4.25% for Yahoo and 4.1% for Google.

I think this is a strong indicator of the economic downturn. People and businesses who previously shunned social media as a strong tool for marketing and growing their businesses are now flocking to the site in an attempt to create conversations with “friends” and “fans” to increase the awareness, as they hope for conversions.

What do YOU think!?

Source:  http://bit.ly/bto06H