Google launched its Google+ social network with much fanfare last year in an attempt to compete with industry behemoth Facebook. Today, Google+ boasts an impressive roster of tens of millions of members — most of whom are barely spending any time on the site, according to an embarrassing new report from comScore. Google+ is a "virtual ghost town," says Amir Efrati at The Wall Street Journal. The new statistics underline what an "uphill battle" Google faces in trying to slow Facebook's momentum. Here, a by-the-numbers look at the "mounting minuses" at Google+:
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Minutes that the average user spent on Google+ in January
405
Minutes that the average user spent on Facebook in January
89
Minutes that the average user spent on Pinterest, a hot new upstart social network
89
Minutes that the average user spent on Tumblr
17
Minutes that the average user spent on LinkedIn
8
Minutes that the average user spent on MySpace, the hoary social site of yesteryear
10 million
Google+ users in July 2011, mere weeks after the launch
40 million
Google+ users in October 2011
90 million
Google+ users in January 2012
400 million
Estimated Google+ users by December 2012
845 million
Facebook users
$202 billion
Google's market value
$75 billion to $100 billion
Facebook's target market value, following its much-anticipated IPO
Source: Google Finance, Mashable (2), The Wall Street Journal
