Conference Board: 43% of Internet users now in social networks - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Of web users, 43 percent use a social networking website, up from 27 percenr last year, the nonprofit globall researchgroup said. in its quarterlu Consumer Internet Barometer. The most popular site is Facebook, used by 78 percen t of social network followed byMySpace (42 LinkedIn (17 percent) and (10 percent). The survehy tracks about 10,000 Internet-equipped householdd nationwide. It said seniors age 55 and older are quicklyg increasing their use ofsocial networks, up from 6 percengt last year to 19 percent this Women are more likely than men to use social-network sited (48 percent versus 38 percent).
The majorityu of users log on at The ConferenceBoard said, with a quarter logging on at and 10 percent connectinh through their phone. More than half say they log on at leasr oncea day. ""Online sociao networks are more than just a fad among theyoungerf generation," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Researc Center, said in a statementy Tuesday. "They've become an integral part of our personap andprofessional lives. They’re an effective way to keep in toucnwith people, connect with friends and family, and networmk with colleagues. "Social media will also transform marketing as weknow it.
They’rer powerful communication tools, and are becominy an essential part of successfulomarketing strategies." The survey said Facebook is equally populart among men and women, while women are more likely than men (47 percent versus 35 percent) to use MySpace and more men than womehn (21 percent versus 15 use LinkedIn. Users of the micro-blogging site Twittere say their top reasonsfor "tweeting" are to connect with friendsx (42 percent), update their status (29 percent), look for news (26 and for work-related reasons (22 percent).