As Facebook becomes a public company Friday, trading at $ 42 per share and valued at $ 116.6 billion, new data suggests the company’s social media dominance may be in decline.
Twice as many Facebook members use at least one additional social networking site in 2012 as they did at this time last year. Just released comScore data obtained by Mylife.com shows that 40% of Facebook users are on another social network, compared to 20% at this time last year.
The most popular secondary social network for Facebook users is Twitter, which is used by 23.8% of Facebook account holders. LinkedIn comes in a close second, with 20.3% of Facebook users registered for the professional network. Some 16.6% of Facebook users are on Google+, 13.9% are on Tumblr and 12.% are on Pinterest.
The data also shows that nearly 100% of Facebook users use an external email server. Yahoo Mail is most popular, used by 44% of Facebook members; followed by Gmail, used by 35.5%; and AOL Mail, used by 12.6%.
Who’s Catching Up to Facebook?
Facebook’s rapid purchase of Instagram for $ 1 billion, snatching the photo editing app our from under Twitter’s nose, proved that Mark Zuckerberg understands the importance of a mobile-first approach to social networking.
In an amendment to the company’s S-1 filings April 23, Facebook explained that it made the acquisition “to enable users to increase their levels of mobile engagement and photo sharing.”
Another recent comScore report found that Tagged was America’s most engaged social network. Its users visit 18 times a month, less than Facebook’s 36 average visits per month. However, each visit lasts 12.1 minutes, which is longer than Facebook’s average 10.9 minute visits.
Does the rise of other social networks means Facebook is on the decline or is the social media powerhouse here to stay? Do mobile first networks have an advantage over Facebook? Sound off in the comments.
BONUS: 10 Things Facebook Should Spend Its IPO Money On
1. Mobile
Mobile isn’t just the future for Facebook — it’s the present, with many studies showing Facebook leads all other social apps by far. However, the Facebook experience on smartphones and tablets is lacking. The service’s iPad app doesn’t even include Timeline, and the Android app doesn’t scale well for tablets. Facebook clearly needs to build out its mobile platform, adding both functionality and marrying the experience better with every smartphone it has a presence on. That, and start monetizing it.
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