Want A Global Hit? Spend More Time On Facebook.

Social networks are hugley popular in the US, but they are rapidly becoming even more so in other markets. According to Nielsen, the social network and blog category reached 74% of active internet users in the US but in Italy the number was 74% and Brazil 86% of active internet users in Brazil spent significant time on social networks. Then there's China…

According to the Data Center of China Internet, the number of social network users in the country reached 245 million in 2009, up 34% over 2008. Social networks such as Tencent’s QQ, search giant Baidu’s Baidu Space and RenRen (formerly Xiaonei) dominate usage there.

Facebook's rapid growth in the US is mirrored in other countries. In New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and Singapore Facebook was the No. 1 website based on market share of visits in June 2010, according to Experian. 

Homegrown sites continue to dominate in some Western Europe markets and Russia even as Facebook has encroached on their territory. In Poland, Nasza Klasa reached 58% of internet users as of spring 2010, making it the No. 3 website, according to Millward Brown SMG/KRC. Facebook did not rank in the top 10.

Hyves in the Netherlands, Odnoklassniki.ru in Russia and Netlog—which is based in Belgium but has a Europe-wide presence – all are growing. Netlog has increased its user base to 68 million as of July up from 56 million in October 2009.