facebookHere’s the latest example of the increasing popularity of social networking:  Facebook has become the second most popular website in the U.S.  According to Compete, Google is number one and Facebook has bumped Yahoo out of the second spot. In January 2010, Facebook had nearly 134 million unique visitors.

Facebook has not just grown in unique visitors.  Its attention rating has also grown. So the amount of time people are spending on Facebook is growing, compared to the amount of time they’re spending on other online activities.  Last month, 11.6% of all time spent online was spent on Facebook, compared to 4.25% for Yahoo and 4.1% for Google.

Not Just For Teens
Facebook has successfully expanded its audience to older Americans. A study by Pingdom found that 61% of Facebook users are aged 35 or older.

This latest data shows that social media can no longer be considered a fringe activity.  It’s an essential way that people communicate.

This post was contributed by Eileen O’Brien, Director of Search & Innovation for Siren Interactive. You can connect with her on Twitter at @eileenobrien.