People Spending More Time on Social Sites

Nielsen Co. released a report stating Americans are devoting 17 percent of their Internet time to social networking sites.

Americans have been devoting 17 percent of all their Internet time to social networks like Facebook and blogging Web sites like Blogger.

The percentage for last month is up from 6 percent a year earlier.

The report comes from Nielsen Co. and follows its decision to team up with Facebook on a marketing program that helps advertisers measure how well their ads work on the online hangout.

Nielsen estimates that ad spending on leading social-network and blogging sites more than doubled year-over-year, to about $108 million for the month. This happened even as several industries decreased their overall ad spending.