Here’s a great infographic from Ignite that helps put the current state of social media in perspective.  Mathematically, we’d knew we’d see a day when social media’s amazing growth would start to slow – and that day may have arrived.  Social media’s size is astonishing and it’ll continue to be a huge part of the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide — and the category’s growth (and potential) isn’t nearly finished.  But until new and attractive consumer usage tools (via technology) or new social media brands offering better and more interesting options arrive, the dramatic rise in new sign-ups and usage has likely seen its peak.

With that said, social media may be the most exciting frontier friends, family, entertainers, brands and marketers have ever seen.   That reminds us that having a clear strategy for how to use social media is so important – haphazard approaches won’t work in such a crowded arena.  And think about it like this:  Outside of being a great communication platform, social media can be (and is) marketing for many.  If a brand were going to sink $1M into a TV or billboard campaign, wouldn’t they have a plan for who to target and what and how they need to market?  Understand the rules of the road and have a strategy, or the efforts will get lost …

We’ll soon post a think piece on Facebook and their ‘bubble,’ posing the question of when being too big becomes a bad thing in the digital space and with younger demos that drive a lot of the online buzz, brand perception and usage.  Until then, enjoy this great infographic from the brains at Ignite.