Social Networking in Brazil - ComScore´s Research

Eighty Five Percent of Brazilian Internet Users Visited a Social Networking Site in September 2008

Google-Owned Orkut Dominates Social Networking in Brazil

RESTON, VA, November 19, 2008 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results from a study of the state of the Internet in Brazil, which includes a focus on social networking, one of the country’s most popular Internet categories. comScore’s data show that 85 percent of Brazilians age 15 and older who accessed the Internet from home or work computers in September 2008 visited a social networking site, up from 76 percent in September 2007. Compared to other countries with Internet populations of at least 10 million monthly unique visitors, Brazil had the second highest percent reach in the social networking category, slightly behind Canada with 87 percent.

These findings, as well as additional industry insights, will be presented during a complimentary Portuguese-language webinar, entitled State of the Internet in Brazil, on Wednesday, November 26 at 3 p.m. San Paulo time (see webinar details below).

Percent Reach for Social Networking Category in Selected Countries* September 2008 vs. September 2007 Total Worldwide, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations* Source: comScore World Metrix
Country	Percent Reach
	Sep-2007	Sep-2008	Point Change
Canada	83.9	86.5	2.6
Brazil	76.0	85.3	9.3
United Kingdom	78.7	78.4	-0.3
Mexico	67.3	73.0	5.7
Spain	63.9	70.7	6.8
United States	65.8	70.2	4.5
Australia	56.5	67.5	11.1
Germany	45.9	65.5	19.6
Italy	53.0	62.2	9.1
Netherlands	55.7	61.3	5.6
Russian Federation	36.3	60.7	24.4
India	50.9	60.3	9.4
France	51.4	59.1	7.7
South Korea	52.3	58.3	6.0
Japan	56.4	55.7	-0.7
China	44.7	50.3	5.6
Taiwan	48.1	42.9	-5.2

*Includes countries with a total Internet population of at least 10 million unique visitors in September 2008.

**Excludes traffic from public computers, such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones/PDAs.

“For Internet users in Brazil, social networking continues to flourish as a hugely popular activity,” said Alex Banks, managing director of Latin America for comScore. “One likely reason for social networking’s success in Brazil is that its concept of online community closely aligns with the culture in Brazil, which is also centered on a strong sense of community and social activity.”

Social Networking Penetration High Throughout Latin America
In addition to Brazil, social networking is a popular Internet pastime across much of Latin America. Nearly 9 out of 10 people in the region visited a social networking site in September 2008, up 9 percentage points from September 2007. While social networking among Latin American nations had the highest reach in Brazil, comScore data show that Chile and Colombia were not far behind with 80 percent reach. Though Puerto Rico had the lowest penetration (71 percent) for the social networking category, it saw the largest gain versus year ago with a 10-percentage point increase.

Percent Reach for Social Networking Category in Latin America September 2008 vs. September 2007 Total Latin America, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations* Source: comScore World Metrix
Country	Percent Reach
	Sep-2007	Sep-2008	Point Change
Latin America	78.0	87.2	9.3
Brazil	76.0	85.3	9.3
Chile	74.0	80.1	6.1
Colombia	69.9	79.6	9.7
Argentina	70.4	77.1	6.7
Venezuela	69.1	77.1	8.0
Mexico	67.3	73.0	5.7
Puerto Rico	60.5	70.5	10.0

*Excludes traffic from public computers, such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones/PDAs.

Orkut is the Dominant Social Networking Site in Brazil

With 21 million unique visitors in September 2008, Google-owned Orkut was by far the most visited social network site in Brazil. Visitors spent an average of 496 minutes on the site during the month, with an average of 28 visits per visitor, ranking Orkut as the social networking site with the highest engagement also.

Visitation and Engagement for Selected Social Networking Sites in Brazil September 2008 Total Brazil, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations Source: comScore World Metrix
Selected Social Networking Sites	Total Unique Visitors (000)	Average Minutes per Visitor	Average Visits per Visitor
Total Internet : Total Audience	26,221	1,608.1	47.5
Orkut	20,752	496.1	28.3
Yahoo! Geocities	3,916	2.8	1.8
SONICO.COM	2,978	10.1	2.7
MINGLEBOX.COM	1,677	1.6	2.4
FOTOLOG.COM	1,606	22.1	5.3
8P.COM.BR	1,463	11.2	1.9
MULTIPLY.COM	1,189	4.4	1.5
HI5.COM	1,142	10.6	2.0
Lycos Tripod	1,115	1.8	1.4
MYSPACE.COM	893	13.2	2.3
LIMEALL.COM	387	0.6	1.7
DEVIANTART.COM	386	7.3	1.8
FACEBOOK.COM	360	14.2	2.7

*comScore Media Metrix monitors the online activities of individuals in Brazil within a universe defined as those aged 15+ who have accessed the Internet from either a home or a work computer in the past 30 days. It excludes traffic from public computers, such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones/PDAs. Since a significant number of consumers in Brazil access the Internet from outside this universe definition, comScore has developed an Extended Universe for the online population in Brazil, which is computed differently from comScore's Total Internet estimate. comScore estimates Brazil's Extended Universe to be 56.2 million.

“With more than five times the number of unique visitors as any other social networking site in Brazil, Orkut has a commanding position in the marketplace,” said Banks. “The site is a particularly attractive venue for advertisers because it is able to deliver both a large and highly engaged audience.”

Further details

Conclusion: Given that Orkut dominates the social networking arena in Brazil, no wonder why only a few executives here really understand about social media and have already incorporated it in your marketing strategy.... Well, I see a lot of space for training and coaching once local market becomes ready for such amazing opportunity.

Octavio Pitaluga
TEN - Top Executives Net
CNO - Chief Networking Officer