Facebook and Twitter survive the Google Plus armageddon, for the time being

So far the potential giant that is Google Plus hasn’t knocked either of the leading social networks off course. Even a little. But it is, of course, early days.

 

The end of June saw Google launch its latest foray into the world of social networking. Buzz and Wave hadn’t worked, so Google went back to the drawing board and came up with, well, essentially a pared-down, improved-upon cross between Facebook and Twitter. Things happened quickly, with the site exploding in terms of user numbers despite the need for an invitation to join.

Google Plus reached the 10 million users milestone so quickly that many began making predictions and pronouncements that Google had finally cracked it, and that Facebook and Twitter should be very, very scared. Not so, it seems, at least for the time being.

According to the latest figures from comScore [via USA Today], both Facebook and Twitter had record visitor numbers in July. Facebook saw 162 million unique visitors to the site during the month, up from 161 million in June and from 146 million 12 months previously. Twitter saw 33 million unique visitors to the site during the month, up from 31 million in June and from 25 million 12 months previously.

Meanwhile, the biggest loser in all this is MySpace, which managed just 33.1 million uniques in June. This is almost 50 percent down on a year ago when MySpace was getting more than 60 million uniques every month.

The statistics for Google Plus aren’t yet being collected, but it’s thought that the search giant’s fledgling social network has around 27 million users at this point. Which compares unfavorably to the 600 million or more Facebook boasts. Granted, it has taken Facebook many years to reach this level, but it still means Google Plus is only a small player at this stage.

So, Google Plus isn’t yet impinging on Facebook and Twitter’s user numbers or visitor counts. Which should bolster the confidence of the two elder statesmen. However, it will be interesting to see if this situation changes in the months to come.

Do you think Google Plus will eventually start ripping users away from its rivals? Or will it just make Facebook and Twitter up their games in order to stay ahead?