Facebook is the social network with the highest number of users among web-connected Americans. This is four times that for Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and 10 times over the user base on Tumblr. The survey was done by the Pew Research Centre’s Internet & American Life Project. It interviewed 2,261 Internet users of over 18 years in November and December 2012.

According to the survey, 67 per cent of Internet users in the US are on Facebook users, followed by Twitter (16 per cent), Pinterest (15 per cent), Instagram (13 per cent) and Tumblr (6 per cent). The survey also identified demographic differences between users of each social network.

While Facebook is predominant among women users and people with household incomes up to $30,000 per year, Twitter has an appeal among men and increased penetration in households with an average income of $75,000 a year.

Women represent the heaviest users of Pinterest and about five times as likely to be on the site as men. This is the largest difference in gender on any other social network the research tracked. According to the findings, 25 per cent said they use social networking. Among men, this figure drops to 5 per cent.

Instagram has an appeal among youth and has a greater female dominance, while Tumblr has the same penetration among male or female users. The majority — 83 per cent — are between 18 to 29 years old while there are no major differences among users based on their education qualifications.

China takes a clear lead over the US

America is no longer the largest global market for smartphones and tablets according to data from Flurry Analytics, China has already exceeded the number of mobile devices, reaching 246 million tablets and smartphones compared with about 230 million in the US. The third biggest market is the UK with about 43 million active devices.

Source: Business Insider

Vatican silences tweeting Cardinals

Tech-savvy cardinals who will soon be asked to vote on a new Pope have been banned from live tweeting during the proceedings.

At least nine members of the 117-strong papal conclave, including Angelo Scola, the Milan archbishop and one of the favourites in the Pontifical run, are known to have an active Twitter account.

However, secrecy is a dogma in the Holy See, especially when it comes to electing a new Pontiff. As a consequence, the cardinals’ thousands of followers are likely to be left tweeting-bereft.

The Vatican has hinted that the conclave of cardinals tasked with finding a successor to Benedict XVI might convene sometime before March 15. The penalty for those failing to fulfill the oath of secrecy is excommunication.

Interestingly the ban will not apply to Benedict XVI himself. Created in December, Pope Benedict’s official twitter account, @Pontifex, already has more than 1.5 million followers.

Source: Ibtimes