Comscore recently released some numbers behind the recent facebook growth. What can be gleaned from these numbers? What do they mean and why are they significant?…

Overall raw growth is very important and facebook has done quite well in that area. The most dramatic growth occurred among 25-34 year olds (up 181 percent), while 12-17 year olds grew 149 percent and those age 35 and older grew 98 percent.

What is really telling is how fast facebook is growing in the 25-34 age group and the 35+ age group. These 2 age groups combined account for almost exactly 50% of unique visitors in 2007.

Facebook has had it’s DNA deeply embedded in it’s college roots. The fact that people that are several years removed from college are flocking to the site means that it is moving towards mass appeal. A part of the reason for this trend is the fact that facebook has opened up it’s platform to developers that are creating more useful and engaging applications that appeal to a broader group more diverse than college aged students.

Another possible reason that facebook is appealing to an older demographic of users versus myspace is the fact that there is a continuity of user experience. Visiting myspace can be painful, loud and visually disconnected. The fact that facebook allows profile pages to be customized with applications (widgets) and yet maintains a visually consistent experience makes for a larger mass audience to embrace it.

Facebook does not allow auto-playing of music on profile pages, this could very well be key to it’s recent growth with an older demographic. I personally can’t deal with lot’s of different music blaring at me as I go through myspace. Myspace has DNA that goes back to promoting music and bands. You can’t change the DNA of a social site that has millions of users very easily; it is ingrained into their users expectations.

Facebook is providing a pleasant, useful and engaging presence that older professionals are finding value in. The applications become more useful and connections can be leveraged quite differently than a site such as LinkedIn. It is worthy to note that many of our LinkedIn connections have embraced facebook and the feedback has been very positive about how they find the facebook platform more useful, engaging (and addicting).

I think it is safe to say that facebook is no longer a college based social site. The raw data proves this. While it has its roots as a college based site, the growth is moving it out of that segmentation. To say facebook is mainstream would be premature. However if the trends of the past year continue; we might be able to say this in a relatively short time (12-18 months).

186 minutes per average user in May for 26 Million users. Yes that is 186 minutes, people are staying on facebook and using it. A television station can barely get my attention for 1 program - 23 minutes with my use of TIVO. Facebook is entertainment as well as usefulness combined. This cuts across how people’s use of their time is being shifted.

People that are reading this that are not facebook users are most likely scratching their heads and thinking “what can you do on a site for 186 minutes?”. The bottom line is just go use it and you will immediately see how you could spend hours using the site. The real question might become… how can I be on the site for less than 186 minutes. Facebook has the innate ability to suck you in.

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