From documents we see that the issue of this project is finding out special social networks, creating data bases of them and monitoring program which would allow to listen to them attentively on regular bases.  And in addition the task of this project is developing the strategy of promotion the interests of  federal executive committees in social media.

So, if new project runs every user can influence on its realization just posting his/her genius ideas on the web. There will be a chance of noticing them on «high level». Another question – how to analyze and select all this stuff. Though there is another way to deliver your genius idea – just post a comment on Medvedev’s blog or write to kremlin@gov.ru.

News from Social networks:

- My.mail.ru welcomed in October the 25-th million user.
- Odnoklassniki.ru (22 mln users) at the end of October has started to take $1 for registration on its socialnet. To pay for registration new users can via SMS. Without payment new account works in the limited mode: so it’s impossible to look through profiles and to chat via instant messager.
- The social network Vkontakte.ru (20 mln users) has started project Userapi.com which can be used at creation of social networks.

New social projects:

- Socialzm.net – new social network where experts of social media tell about trends and Runet’s experience.
- Dengi 2.0 – new social media project of publishing house Kommersant. The main idea is to engage bloggers – experts in economics and other spheres – in mutual content development for the first 2009 issue of Kommersant’s magazine Dengi 2.0 (eng. Money) together with journalists.
- And a very actual event – Crisis-2008.ru – the new project completely devoted to crisis in Russian economics.

Potential growth rate of online market in Runet is extremely high – particularly in boom of new media and social networks – for example the audience of the most popular Russian social network Odnoklassniki.ru welcomed more than 20 mln people just for two years! Vkontakte.ru – 17 mln people, My.Mail.ru – 15 mln people.

But most popular Russian social networks used for personal communication or instant messaging. They are effective for contacts not for engaging campaigns.

At the same time average Russian blogger and opinion leader (internet-savvy, highly educated middle class consumer) is generally more critical and suspicious of any information, than its average western user, as well as able to obtain information by himself. Expert opinions usually placed on Internet forums, discussion boards and blogs (over 6 mln). Most preferable blog hosting platform for this blogger – is LiveJournal.Com.

Internet campaigns in general are more effective in Russia as a part of offline complex marketing campaigns.

More popular and long live communities in Runet are those which have continuation in real life (offline regular meetings on Auto.ru etc.)

Microblogging in Runet is not as popular as in global Internet due to poor ability in expression – 140 characters are available for Latin symbols and only 70 – for Cyrillics. Russians need more space to express their thoughts!)

The more localization of internet-campaigning – the better. Global Google looses to its competitor Yandex due to localization – services that appeal to particular Russian consumers interest (for instance Yandex-guru consumer advisory feature or Moscow traffic online navigation feature etc.).

So, if you are going to come to Russian online market, or are already present here – try to use at least several independent information source and communication tools, to know more how you could be more local and effective here providing your global company’s strategy.

Internet users in Russia – 28,1 mln people or 25% of population of Russia 18+, and it more than in the last year on 5 mln.

Also, some figures:
Monthly reach – 24,8 mln users
Weekly reach – 19,7 mln users
Daily reach – 10,7 mln users

Parity on age:
18-24 years old – 57%
25-34 years old – 41%
35-44 years old – 29%
45-54 years old – 14%
> 55 years old – 3%

Preferences of users depend on an exit place in Runet.
The majority of HOME users prefer entertaining resources whereas OFFICE users visit news and thematic resources more often. But both prefer social nets, as well. This data confirms the fact of distribution of broadband networks in Russia.

The majority of Internet audience still is engaged in information search (85 %), downloading of files (75 %) and use of programs for communication – ICQ, Skype etc. (56 %)

Tendencies:

• growth of number of users conducting online diaries and visiting blogs-systems such as LiveJournal.ru, Liveinternet.ru, Blogs.Mail.ru etc.
• russian analogues of well-known western social networks became popular and welcomed millions of Russian users
• video hostings and the resources which allow to place video files are becoming the most popular among users despite of low internet connections (Youtube.ru, Smotri.com, Rutube.ru)
• high popularity of social services like bookmarks (Memori.ru, Moemesto.ru, Bobrdobr.ru) and news resources with UGC (New2.ru, SMI2.ru, Roem.Ru)
• the example of Top4Top has shown (this project was closed in September) that principle “all users follow a star” doesn’t work in Runet, because it has its own “stars”.

Where Runet-users search the information:
The most popular among users service is Yandex.ru (84%), at the second place – Mail.ru (80%), Google.ru (61%) – the third place of rating.

Where Russian users spend free time:
The most popular social networks in Runet are: Odnoklassniki.ru (the audience of resource has increased twice and has made over 20 mln people) – ru version of Classmate.com, Vkontakte.ru (17,6 mln people that twice it is more in comparison with last year) – .ru version of Facebook.com.

The most useful instruments for measure public opinion are: Blogs.Yandex.ru and Blogsearch.Google.ru

DM: “Good afternoon dear friends, dear colleagues! I don’t think I will surprise you, but nevertheless I will say some words. First of all I would like to thank you for inviting me. This is indeed the most trustworthy forum of Runet. And it’s very good that it has become a tradition.

Nowadays Russian segment has quite strong positions in the global net. This is a source of information and, as a matter of fact, quintessence of freedom of self-expression inherent in Internet in general.

During the last 8 years Internet audience has increased in 10 times, and nowadays around 40 million people class themselves as Internet users, Runet users. I think that this number is very good, because when I started to use Internet (it was nearly 12 years ago) I could not imagine that in short enough time (I mean historically short time) one third of our country will use Internet. And it is obvious that the matter concerns permanent and high-grade users.

Traffic and e-commerce are growing rapidly. During the exhibition we started to discuss, what is the amount e-commerce in Runet. There is information that 50 billion rubles. The total amount of payments in Internet from Runet is more than 300 billion rubles – by some estimations.  

The amount of web production market – around 2,5 billion rubles, advertising market is more than 11 billion rubles and it’s growing rapidly.

A considerable amount of money was spent in 8 years, probably a bit less that abroad, but still money was spent. This includes money from the State budget for financing socially important projects. Some of them are well known like “Gramota.ru“. The promotion of online higher education has been started and a big number of educational resources created. But on the other hand we understand that it is just the beginning.

There is a range of State services; these are such services that can be used by citizens without queuing, in the most convenient way for them. In my point of view, now it’s important to connect these services with normative documents that are used in the State office, to make sure that online services be accepted in the same way as traditional paper documents and with the same level of trust. For this we need to create an appropriate legislative basis. 

E-trading for the State needs also has started and it was necessary to do that. No use to mention that our traditional media became online as well and online versions are used as much as their traditional form.

Also there are exceptionally interesting social services, created by private business, they are well known: “Odnoklassniki.ru”, “Vkontakte.ru”. Yesterday I saw there are around 10 million users in “Odnoklassniki.ru“. I found 630 people with the name Dmitry Medvedev, and part of them look much like me, simply the same face. And.. that’s good!

What can be the goal of our further work? This is, certainly, making quality content for all services, all Runet products, technical and technological advance of Runet, so that our segment keeps up with foreign analogues. This is, by the way, a joint task, task for state, private business, maybe task for everybody who is in this hall today.

There is a very subtle point about correlation of freedom of word and responsibility. I won’t make any banal remarks, but I think that an answer to this question is quite simple. It is necessary to obey the law everywhere, including Internet, and not to do actions that directly contradict Criminal Code. This is obvious.

But at the same time State has to have a calm and loyal position in this context because this segment, this business is developing. If we are not speaking about crimes all other activities, which do not contradict with the law, should be welcomed. That’s why we exclude Internet-providing from the list of so called strategic industries.

There is one more important topic: dialog between internet community and government authorities, as a matter of facts that is what we are doing today. I think that it needs to continue in future, and, as I have already said, State has to act with correctness but at the same time to assert appropriate rules. And I know that nowadays many government officials get information from the Net. But I believe that almost every government official must have a PC with Internet access and s/he has to be a high-grade Runet and Internet user. Only in that case s/he will be able to acquire all necessary skills for communication in the informational environment, all necessary informational products.

I would like to wish you success. I think that this Forum is to achieve those important aims that it has set. All the best!”

Population of Russia – 142,2 mln people
Over 18 years old – 114 mln people
Internet users – 23, 9 mln people (18+) – that is 21% of the general population of Russia 18+

Population of Moscow – 9 mln people
Internet users over 12 years old – 4,8 mln people (51%)

Russia
2006 – 20.1 mln users
2007 – 23.9 mln users
Moscow
2006 – 3.6 mln users
2007 – 4.8 mln users

Audience in Moscow goes up thanks to: ACTIVE users (6-7 days a week) and HOME users
Age groups: under 25 and over 35

Runet audience evolution

• Equalization of gender audience makeup (48% female users)
• Audience concentration within 18-39 years old will abate
• Number of users will go up in the old age groups

Tendencies

• There are more new users in the regions, but both activity growth of Moscow audience and migration to Moscow balance this process
• Current Moscow model of Internet audience is a prototype of what there will be in the regions in three years:
  • Access to Internet both at home and at work (office audience more often use Internet at home, e.g. LiveJournal & Odnoklassniki.ru)
  • Almost all home computers have access to Internet
  • Broadband access full dominance
  • Main audience growth is provided by 40 years old users (+60% among pensioners 55+ – according to FOM data for the last two years)

Where Internet users write

According to Yandex Blog Search Russian language blogs for the most part are kept at 73 blog hosting servers (the number includes sites that host more than 200 blogs). The most popular blog hosting websites housing between 50 and 350 thousand journals are LiveJournal.Com, LiveInternet.Ru, Blogs.Mail.ru. At the same time the majority of standalone bloggers use WordPress as engine. A vast majority of bloggers (95%) live in cities, where population exceeds one million people – nearly 80% are from Moscow ans Saint Petersburg.

Where Internet users spend their time

The most popular social networks in Runet are: Odnoklassniki.ru (more than 10 mln people) – .ru version of Classmate.com, Vkontakte.ru (7,6 mln people) – .ru version of Facebook.com.
Dating services – Love Planet (9 285 582 people), Mamba.Ru (9 467 626 people).
Photo and video hosting – fotki.yandex.ru, video.mail.ru, Rutube.

And to measure public opinion helps Blogs.Yandex.ru with it’s pulse as well.