The popularity of social networking sites needs no introduction. The launch of Google+ shows excellent promise and it is proving itself to other major social network sites as a tough competitor. For those who were skeptical about Google+, the data from Global Web Index, a company specializing in internet analytics may come as a surprise. The research shows that Google has moved ahead of Twitter in the 4th quarter in 2012, and has secured the position as the second major social networking platform.

According to the report, Facebook still enjoys a lead ahead of the competition. As one of the largest social networking sites, it has over a billion members totally, with 693 million users who are active. Its growth, with reference to active user accounts was reported to be 33%. Using information compiled from 31 countries, which make up ninety percent of the population globally, Global Web Index established 343 million active users to Google+ and 288 million active users to Twitter. The data also showed that Google+ has earned a growth rate of 33 percent while Twitter has a growth rate of 40 percent.

The data from the report also indicated a comparison of the sites based on the worldwide population who use these social networking sites actively, on a monthly basis, with 25 percent using Google+ actively, 51 percent using Facebook, and around 21 percent using YouTube and Twitter. The video sharing services offered by Google continues to be appreciated, winning it some percentage points. YouTube moved ahead of Twitter to secure a position as the third largest social network. In the top-ten list of largest social networks, LinkedIn made to the 10th spot with over 100 million active usage and ten percent growth rate of active users.

The 5th to 9th positions in the list belonged to social networking sites that are popular in China, where censorship on internet is prominent. Qzone, Sina Weibo, Tencent, Youku, as well as Todou are some of the Chinese social networks noted on the list.