A report released today by Global Web Index (GWI) reveals that Tumblr is now the fastest growing social network, with its active user base having grown 120% in the past six months.
At the bottom of the list? Facebook — although it’s still by far the largest. However, with over a billion monthly active users how much more room is there to grow?
In overall new member signups, Pinterest led the charge with 57% growth, followed by Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, and Google+ respectively. Facebook member base only grew by a paltry 6%, but again I direct you to my previous point about the tremendously large user base they already have.
Fastest Growing Mobile Apps
The report from Global Web Index also revealed some insights into the fastest growing mobile apps. Snapchat topped this list, with GWI noting it’s especially popular amongst teen and 20-something users.
Snapchat grew 56% this year, followed by Facebook Messenger and Instagram. But there’s a huge caveat here — Facebook literally forced all of its users to download the Facebook Messenger app in order to send private messages to people on their friends list. You have to wonder how much its user base would have grown had that not been the case.
Rounding out the top 10 of fastest growing apps are Line, Pinterest, Kakao Talk, Vine, Kik Messenger, Google+, and Viper.
While Facebook reigns supreme in terms of user base on both desktop and mobile, GWI notes that it has some major challenges to face:
Firstly, people are growing tired of it, with 50% of members in the UK and US saying that they’re using it less frequently than they used to (rising to 64% among teens)… Since the start of 2013, we’ve seen behaviors like sharing photos and messaging friends fall by around 20 percentage points.
GWI’s data is based on interviews with 170,000 users across 32 markets. If you’re hungry for more data on social network and app usage, you can view the full 45-page report here.
