![Google+ About To Hit 10 Million Users [REPORT]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/07Azo98UOIBIAkgPD3jCQvJ/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647020075.jpg)
Google's social network, Google+, might be one of the fastest-growing networks ever, having already reached 10 million users according to one estimate.
Paul Allen, of Ancestry.com -- not to be confused with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen -- has developed an interesting methodology to calculate the number of Google+ members.
He sampled a number of surnames from the U.S. Census Bureau data and compared it to surnames of Google+ users. By comparing surname popularity in the U.S. with the number of users on Google+ with each surname, he can guesstimate the percentage of the U.S. population that signed up for Google+. Finally, he calculated a ratio of U.S. to non-U.S. users to generate an estimate for the number of Google+ users worldwide.
The result? Google+ has approximately 9.5 million users worldwide, with 2.2 million joining in the past 32 to 34 hours, according to Allen's estimates.
This is amazing growth even for a giant such as Google: We cannot remember any social network reaching so many members so quickly after its release.