10 Digital Marketing Infographics to Bookmark, Print Out or Stare at For a While

Infographics have come a long way since their early cave-drawing roots.

Pictures, as they say, are worth a thousand words.

And looking at an image is infinitely less taxing than reading its text equivalent, which is why the format has surged in popularity in recent years as smart organizations tap into the viral potential and universal appeal of information represented in graphic form.

But if you’ve clicked around the Internet lately you’ve probably noticed a disturbing trend: There are too many infographics to absorb, and sifting through them gives you a bigger headache than reading the text would have.

On that sour note, I present to you 10 digital marketing infographics that are actually worth your click, your printer ink, and your attention. No aspirin necessary.

1. Have We Reached a World of Infinite Information?

Apropos to the subject of this blog post, this infographic illustrates the equally fascinating and alarming rate at which digital content is being created.

For content creators, this speaks of increased competition. For content consumers, this speaks of increased choices (along with likely analysis paralysis and information overload).

[Full version: Flowtown]

2. A Look Inside the Data Centers of the Top Websites

The only thing growing faster than the ever-expanding cache of content is consumers’ demand for it to load quickly on their screen.

And no one knows this better than the data centers of the world’s top websites which have the thankless task of serving said consumers with said content.

Like garbage collectors, data centers are only noticed when their job isn’t done. This infographic explains the toil they go through on a daily basis.

[Full version: Peer1]

3. The 2011 CMO’s Guide to the Social Landscape

With the proliferation of information upon us, navigating digital content has never been more difficult. This infographic succinctly illustrates the perks and pitfalls of some of the most popular social spaces.

[Full version: CMO.com]

4. Google Facts and Figures

With the lofty goal of “organiz[ing] the world’s information and mak[ing] it universally accessible and useful,” Google attempts to help connect people with the cream of the content. And this infographic attempts to explain how Google works.

[Full version: Pingdom]

5. Web Design Evolution: Two Decades of Innovation

As important as the data itself is how the data is presented. Web design has come a long way in a couple of decades – from plain Jane text files, to visitor counters, to animated headlines to the modern (for now!) web. This infographic details how pixels have been presented to people throughout history.

[Full version: KISSmetrics]

6. How Internet Users Feel the Need to Belong

The underlying purpose of the web is connection. This infographic illustrates how people connect using the web.

[Full version: Flowtown]

7. The Current State of Social Networks

Opportunities to connect are ubiquitous on the web. But different types of people congregate in different social spaces. This infographic paints a picture of the demographics specific to each major network (many of which you probably haven’t heard of … yet).

[Full version: Mashable]

8. Are We Too Obsessed With Facebook?

One social space that crosses demographic boundaries and acts as a vortex to people of all ages, income levels, race, ethnicity, gender, income levels and occupations is, of course, Facebook. This infographic calls into question the shared obsession we all have with the big, blue social network.

[Full version: OnlineSchools]

9. The Business of Facebook

Wherever audiences congregate, cash registers ring. But the volume of business surrounding Facebook is astounding, as this infographic illustrates.

[Full version: FastCompany]

10. An Infographic About Infographics

This list wouldn’t be complete without a dose of self-awareness. In other words: we’ll end with an infographic about infographics.

[Full version: Ivan Cash]

Have a favorite infographic that wasn’t listed here? Post a link in the comments if you’d like.