google plus

Google’s Larry Page last night announced the company’s Q4 revenue information and some other bits of information about their services.

You can find the full breakdown here.

One of the key pull out facts of all that was about the growth in Google Plus user numbers. The number has more than doubled in the past three months. Here are the figures:

  • There are now 90 million Google Plus users
  • At least 60% of them log in daily
  • At least 80% of them log in weekly
  • There are now 1 million business pages on Google Plus

Google Plus launched in June 2011 in closed beta, before opening up to anyone in September 2011. That level of growth over such a short period of time makes it the fastest growing social network to date.

90 Million in REAL Terms

Now we know how many Google Plus users there are, let’s put that in some context.

  • There are only 12 countries in the world with populations higher than 90 million.
  • So Google Plus, if it were a country, would effectively be the 13th largest by population.
  • Amongst the countries with a population of less than 90 million are the UK, France, Germany and Spain.

How Does it Stack Up Against the Other Social Networks?

In terms of number of registered users and active accounts, Google Plus is still some way behind the other big players – but its speed of growth would indicate it won’t be long until it catches up!!

linkedin facebook twitter

As it stands at the time of writing:

  • Facebook boasts over 800 million registered users.
  • Twitter has over 300 million.
  • LinkedIn has over 135 million.

If All Social Networks Were Countries:

If all social networks were countries, then based on population:

  • Facebook would be the third largest
  • Twitter would be the fourth largest
  • LinkedIn would be the tenth largest

Google Plus by the End of 2012

The launch of Google Plus was met with some cynicism, but Google is integrating this social product with search and focussing heavily on increasing its membership. Recent ‘Hangouts’ on Plus with celebrities like Will.I.Am and David Beckham, serves only to encourage more consumers, while the increased prominence of Plus for brand and name searches is encouraging businesses.

I’ll stick my neck out and hazard a ‘guestimate’ that Google Plus will have more than 250 million registered users by the end of the 2012.