Facebook Backlash? It's All About Perspective

HERZELIA PITUACH, Israel, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Facebook is dead! Long live Facebook!  One month since Facebook began trading as a public company, a new analysis of Android mobile users shows that the so-called "Facebook Backlash" doesn't seem to have much traction, particularly when comparing current Facebook usage to that of other mobile social networking apps.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120716/NY40704-INFO )

Triapodi, Ltd., makers of the Appreciate Personal App Market, today revealed results of an analysis on the usage statistics of some of the popular social networking apps for Android: Facebook for Android, Google+, Instagram, Twitter and Path.  The analysis was based on hundreds of thousands of Appreciate users before through and after Facebook's publicized IPO.  Appreciate delivers a personalized view of any app in the Google Play Android Market with customized app pages and perfectly matching app recommendations delivered daily, based on the user's individual interests. 

"Like many who are invested professionally and personally in social media, we were curious to see if there was truth to what others have stated about Facebook being tarnished by their IPO and some of their own statements about mobile," said Amir Maor, co-founder and CEO, Triapodi. "We studied data based on actual usage of our users  prior to and following the May 18 public offering and one thing is crystal clear – Facebook is alive and well and, among mobile Android users, appears to be as strong as ever."

Appreciate is the only comprehensive Social App Market for Android, empowering mobile users to locate others within the Appreciate community, and to discover and install apps being used by others with common interests. With more than 500,000 downloads of the Appreciate app to date, the analysis is a well-grounded representation of all Android users.

"On key metrics like user engagement, user age and geographic penetration, Facebook hits the sweet spot for marketers looking to tap into their enormous international audience.  Despite the 'bump in the road' of their stock price, the fact remains that in the world of social media, there's Facebook and then there's everyone else," concluded Maor.

User Engagement:

When reviewing User Engagement, Facebook for Android is being used more times than all of the other social media apps combined.  Appreciate users averaged nearly 16 sessions per week on Facebook for Android.  Twitter was the runner-up in User Engagement with approximately six (6) sessions per week.

Gender Gap:

As far as the gender breakdown of users, Google+ is significantly more popular with males compared to females. The same holds for Path. On the other hand, Twitter is the most balanced social network by gender, followed by Facebook for Android and Instagram.

Worldwide Domination:

Travel the virtual world of social media and you'll find that Facebook reigns supreme. In North America, Facebook has achieved a penetration rate of 62% of Android users while Instagram, Twitter and Google+ all fall in the teens. Facebook's popularity crosses South America (66%), Europe (53%), and Asia (49%).

Instagram, although new to Android, has already passed Twitter in North America (18%) and South America (22%) in terms of market penetration. In Asia and Europe, Twitter is still ahead, but Instagram is not far behind. Google+ also has a significant footprint in each of these markets, especially in North America, however still lagging behind Twitter and Instagram. Path is still far behind all the apps mentioned above, and it will be interesting how that will change over time based on their distinct approach that limits the size of its users' networks.

Older (and wiser?):

Looking at users' age, Google+ appears to appeal to slightly older crowd compared to the rest of the social media apps that were analyzed. It has the smallest percentage of under twenty years old users, and the highest percentage of the over thirty years old users. Path also skews slightly older.  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram each seem to reach a more balanced base of users, particularly in the valuable 25-54 demo that appeals to many marketers.

About Appreciate Personal App Market:

Using proprietary, cognitive algorithms and a powerful AI, Appreciate Personal App Market determines how well every Android app in the Google Play Store – games, tools, multimedia, lifestyle, etc. -- fits every individual Appreciate user based on who they are and what they like (based on demonstrated interest in type and style of apps) to deliver a relevant, personalized Android experience.  In May 2012, Appreciate surpassed the 500,000 downloads milestone.  Learn more at http://www.appreciate.mobi.

Appreciate STATS is a free, registration required (email and password) service created to inform and empower developers, marketers and observers of the Android market and mobile industry.  Appreciate STATS goes far beyond rankings based on the mere number of downloads to deliver detailed, segmented information on a weekly and monthly basis about the usage of the most popular apps and the efficiency of individual app pages. Register for free at stats.appreciate.mobi.

Appreciate is developed by Triapodi, Ltd., an emerging mobile technology company founded in 2010 by Amir Maor, CEO, and Yaron Segalov, CTO. The company is based in Herzelia Pituach, Israel.

SOURCE Triapodi, Ltd.