GlobalWebIndex (GWI), a market research company specialising in online consumer behaviour, was in Singapore, in November 2014 to give a presentation on mobile networking trends and the boom with the younger generation. I was there during their lunch presentation and went away with interesting insights and information on the mobile networking trends.
When we talked about mobile networking, it has grown and evolved along with the boom of social networking worldwide. Mobile networking is booming!
“Mobile networking is booming – 40% of global internet users are now doing this, rising to 46% in APAC. Worldwide, the size of the messaging audience has grown by 40% in the last two years” – GlobalWebIndex
My interest in mobile networking comes from a few areas, my interest in social media networking, the usage of mobile networking apps and how mobile networking would impact future consumer/business activities. There were a number of mobile networking apps available and each of them were used differently for work and leisure. I used WhatsApp for mobile networking in Singapore, WeChat for mobile networking with friends/colleagues in Singapore, China and Taiwan due to the nature of my business and work.
Mobile messaging is rising and expanding very quickly, it’s free, easy to use and connect with people in your country and worldwide. One of the mobile messaging apps that had witnessed a remarkable growth is WeChat. They experienced significant growth with an active user base increase of 156% globally, and a staggering 499% in Singapore between Q1 2014 to Q3 to 2014. WeChat’s dominant position in the mobile messaging arena is a strong presence of 23% of the world’s internet users and 39% within the APAC region, actively using the WeChat app.
It was very interesting to view the profiles and trends of WeChat users in Singapore. With the growth of mobile networking in Singapore and the influence among the younger generation in Singapore, it will be interesting to see how business and brands tap on them together with the usage of social networking platforms.
* Information, figures and details courtesy of GlobalWebIndex and Ogilvy Public Relations Singapore *