Five Friday Facts #6
Hooray for Friday! It’s almost the weekend here in Singapore, and we’re about to head off for some real-world socialising [gasp!], but we couldn’t end the day without sharing our weekly round-up of the freshest stats from around the social world. See you Monday…
Google+ in Japan
Google is teaming up with Japanese girl group AKB48 that will see all 48 members using its Google+ social network to interact with fans across countries. AKB48 now has its own dedicated Google+ page. Perhaps Google+ is trying to capitalize on the moderate success its international counterparts like Twitter have been enjoying in Japan, where Twitter has more than 17.5 million users.
Foursquare reaches 15 million users
Foursquare now has 15 million users, tripling its user base within a year. 50% of its users reside in the US, while the other half are international. In comparison, its competitor Gowalla, which was recently bought by Facebook, had 2 million users worldwide.
Baidu’s indoor maps
Before Google launched its indoor maps function, China search giant Baidu had rolled out a similar service in October involving 500 participating malls around China, with around 180 in Beijing and 200 in Shanghai. Getting lost in a mall has never been more difficult.
Android App Downloads
Android has recently passed 10 billion downloads, with an increase of more than 66% of downloads within half a year alone. People from 190 different countries download Android apps every day, and 4 out of the top 5 countries with the most downloads per capita are from Asia, with South Korea in the top spot. We already know social gaming is big in Asia, and games are by far the most popular apps, claiming 25.6% of downloads. More juicy stats can be found in this infographic produced by Android Developers.
US mobile video viewers
We know watching videos online is huge in China, but online video viewing is equally prominent in the US, having surpassed 50% penetration. Mobile devices are becoming the most popular channel, with US smartphone viewers representing 90% of the mobile video population in 2011.