Is Social Networking Separated by Social Class?

That’s what a new Nielsen Claritas study suggests.

The study says that there are class differences among users of social networks – particularly Facebook and MySpace. Wealthier people are 25% more likely to use the former, while the less affluent are 37% more likely to cling to the latter.

More specifically, the research found that “almost 23 percent of Facebook users earn more than $100,000 a year, compared to slightly more than 16% of MySpace users. On the other end of the spectrum, 37 percent of MySpace members earn less than $50,000 annually, compared with about 28% of Facebook users.”

MySpace users tend to be “in middle-class, blue-collar neighborhoods,” said Mike Mancini, vice president of data product management for Nielsen, which used an online panel of more than 200,000 social media users in the United States in August. “They’re on their way up, or perhaps not college educated.”

LinkedIn and Twitter were also part of the study – and the two skew even higher among affluent users.

Nearly 38% of LinkedIn users earn more than $100,000 a year, and there’s a strong overlap between Facebook and LinkedIn users.

Why Isn't Anyone 'Flock'ing?

As of July 2009, Mozilla’s Firefox accounted for nearly 23% of all browser usage – making it the second most popular Web browser worldwide behind Microsoft’s many versions of Internet Explorer, which claim 68% of the browser-usage pie.

While these two browsers are the most popular, there are several others – including Opera, Chrome and Safari – which begs the question, is there room for anybody else?

Why Isn't Anyone 'Flock'ing?

As of July 2009, Mozilla’s Firefox accounted for nearly 23% of all browser usage – making it the second most popular Web browser worldwide behind Microsoft’s many versions of Internet Explorer, which claim 68% of the browser-usage pie.

While these two browsers are the most popular, there are several others – including Opera, Chrome and Safari – which begs the question, is there room for anybody else?

An Expert Assessment of Social Media Marketing

We talk a lot about social media marketing. A lot. In the past few weeks alone we’ve published posts on using Twitter to help build a brand, advantages and disadvantages of being a YouTube partner, and statistics on how much MORE money we’ll spend on social network marketing this year.

What can we say  – we’ve got a soft spot for social media and its marketing potential.

Of course, we think we’re justified in our love of applying new technologies to tried-and-true techniques. After all, we have implemented some of these components in our own campaigns, and they seem, for the most part, to garner a positive response.

As always – and we preach this more than we prosthelytize social media as the second coming – serious consideration should be given to the benefits and pitfalls of social media before abandoning everything else you know. Even then, while you weigh your options, your question shouldn’t be ‘Should I engage in social media marketing?’ but rather ‘HOW should I engage in social media marketing?’

But you don’t have to take our word for it.

Maybe you’re the kind of person who needs to hear these things from IBM Vice President Sandy Carter, who did an interview on the subject with MarketingProfs.com.

During the chat, Sandy offers her professional perspective on the importance of social media for business, as well as some of the topics she’ll cover during a session at the B2B Forum in Boston on June 8 & 9 – a conference we highly recommend you attend if these sort of topics are your cup of tea.

Is ‘Tweeting’ for the Birds?

With all the buzz surrounding Twitter these days – namely the showdown between Ashton Kutcher and CNN – it’s hard not to think about how this new microblogging craze can impact your business.

But, like MySpace, Facebook and other social networking platforms before it, there’s a general feeling of caution for companies contemplating whether or not it’s in their best interest. And rightly so. Handled properly and with care, Twitter can do your organization a world of good. Used irresponsibly – well, there’s no telling how much damage you could do.

Still, if you’re on the fence about opening the Twitter gates, we suggest reading this article on ChiefMarketer.com. It contains some useful information and anecdotes about how and how not to use Twitter. Our favorite comes from the latter end of that spectrum, and it goes a little something like this: