Social media hosepipe ban?

Figures from Forrester show that while social media demand continues to grow, the content supplying it is on the wane.

Forrester has identified several types of social media users and found that while the numbers of ‘joiners’ and ‘spectators’ are increasing, ‘creators’ are declining.

Figures for the US show that while “Joiners” (users who maintain a profile on a social networking site and visit social networking sites at least once a month) increased 8% to 59% of online consumers, “Creators” (users who publish a blog, update Web pages, upload user-generated video, or write and post content) fell 1% to 23% of online consumers in 2010.

Significantly, the percentage of “critics” (those who post ratings and reviews, comment on various blogs, and contribute to online forums) also fell, declining to 33%, from 37% over the past year.

The findings indicate a trend worldwide showing the number of “Joiners” increasing overall, with Europe, metropolitan China, and Australia registering double-digit point growth. In Europe and metropolitan China, the numbers of “Critics” remained flat or declined. Most regional markets registered increases in “Spectators”.

Other key trends indicated in the study show that

68% are Spectators (vs. 73% in 2009): They read blogs, user-generated reviews, and tweets, and watch user-generated video at least once a month.

31% are Conversationalists (n/a in 2009): They update their status on social networking sites and post Twitter updates at least once a week.

19% are Collectors (vs. 21% in 2009): They use RSS feeds, vote for websites online, and add “tags” to Web pages or photos

The US data from Forrester’s updated Social Technographics Ladder, which groups consumers into seven categories of social media behavior,was derived from an online survey of 26,913 online US users age 18 to 88 in April 2010.