The boundaries of social and media networks are becoming harder to draw, as they branch more decisively into messaging services, or in Facebook’s case begin the steady dissolution of a single social service into what seems to be a multitude of media-focused alternatives. When it comes to browsing behaviour, tablets and smartphones are now popular enough to be impacting PC usage. This report aims to examine which networks consumers use and how frequently they use them, the types of activities carried out on networks, how consumers interact with brands and products on them, and which networks they use. It also looks at network use out of the home, how consumers would prefer to customise their adverts and which types of network, if any, they would like to see ad-free.

This report will variously talk about “social networks”, “media networks” and simply “networks”, which can refer to either social or media types.

Mintel defines social networks in this report as any networks which have person-to-person interaction at the heart of their offering. The four main networks Mintel includes under this heading in the UK are Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook. These networks are the focus of all analysis in the consumer-focused sections of this report. Any discussion of ‘core’ social networks also references these networks.

The market-focused sections of this report are based on data provided by comScore, which do not separate Google+ usage from more generic Google usage. For that reason, Google+ is not included in market discussion, though it is included in Mintel’s exclusive consumer research.

Media networks are defined by Mintel as networks that facilitate person-to-person communication either through the sharing of media, or with a thematic focus on media (such as books, films or games).

For example, Tumblr and Pinterest are both media networks with a social element.

Sites like Goodreader and Steam Community are more socially focused than Pinterest or Tumblr, but still revolve around the discussion of or sharing of books and games respectively. For this reason we have grouped them under media networks.

Below is the list of the top 10 social media or networking websites by unique monthly visitors. Given that this information is frequently referenced throughout the report, each network is below listed alongside its classification by Mintel as a social or media network.

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