More damning research has emerged about Google+ user engagement, challenging Google's spin that the network is growing at a rapid clip.
RJ Metrics looked at the public comments of 40,000 Google+ users and found, among other things, that about 30% of such users who make a public post once never do so again. The report may present a somewhat skewed picture of Google+ engagement since it focuses on public posts. However, based on the data, the service's user engagement still lags that of competitors like Facebook and Twitter.
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Among other findings:
- The average post on Google+ has less than one reply, reshare and +1.
- There's a 15% chance that a user will not post publicly again even after posting publicly five times.
- The average time between posts is 12 days for active users.
- The average number of public posts per active users declines steadily month after month.
In contrast, a the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 52% of Facebook users and 33% of Twitter users engage with the platform daily.
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The RJ Metrics report emerges after comScore found that Google+ users spent an average of 3.3 minutes on the site in January vs. 7.5 hours for Facebook.
For its part, Google has been mum about Google+ engagement, though it now boasts 180 million users for the platform. Google released a statement taking issue with the study: "By only tracking engagement on public posts, this study is flawed and not an accurate representation of all the sharing and activity taking place on Google+. As we've said before, more sharing occurs privately to circles and individuals than publicly on Google+. The beauty of Google+ is that it allows you to share privately - you don't have to publicly share your thoughts, photos or videos with the world."
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Jorisvo
This story originally published on Mashable here.
