UK prefers social networks to entertainment

Social networks have become more popular than entertainment sites in the UK, as the likes of Facebook and Twitter expanded their membership bases.

Social networks accounted for 12.4 per cent of all UK internet visits in January, whilst entertainment's share fell to 12.18 per cent, Experian Hitwise data showed.

The UK's growing obsession with social networks showed itself over the month when 2.4 billion visits were made to such sites.

The amount of time people spent on social networks was significant in January as well, with the average session lasting 22 minutes.

People were seen skipping between sites as well, with one in eight people leaving a social network only to head to another one straight away.

Many businesses have used social networking, both on services such as Facebook and by integrating social features into their own webpages.

Experian Hitwise research director Robin Goad said ecommerce companies should "harness the power of social networks, driving traffic through to their own websites."

"Social networks have become a key source of traffic from many websites, particularly those distributing content and chasing eyeballs,'" he said in a blog.

"But transactional websites - those selling goods or services such as travel or insurance online - still rely primarily on search for their traffic and therefore sales."

This week Twitter celebrated its fifth birthday, leading IT PRO to wonder what the business case is for the microblogging site.