Tuesday, June 13, 2006

M:METRICS: 'Connected Creators' Go Mobile

M:Metrics has a new report that "found the British are more inclined to use social networking applications than are American or German mobile phone users, with 10.1 percent of Britons, 7.2 percent of Germans, 6.5 percent of French and 6.7 percent of Americans reporting they uploaded photos or videos to the Web, used chat or used dating applications in the month of April."

The firm found that the "demographics of subscribers who generate user-created content are similar across the three geographies, with students, particularly those aged 13-17, being the most predisposed to the activity. The monthly survey, which is the largest of its kind, also revealed that males are the most active, comprising of 56.2 percent of the audience in the UK, 59 percent of the German audience, 62.4 percent of the U.S. audience and 56.8 percent in France."

Monthly Use of Social Networking Applications: M:Metrics MobiLens, April 2006
ActivityUK Sub-
scribers (000s)
% UK SubsGerman Sub-
scribers (000s)
% German SubsFrench Sub-
scribers (000s)
% French SubsUS Sub-
scribers (000s)
% US Subs
Uploaded video to Web1,2212.87101.67611.83,6011.9
Used chat1,7064.01,7624.11,3283.27,1423.8
Uploaded photo to Web2,9486.91,5533.61,4783.56,8743.7
Accessed dating service4581.13950.9344.82,6351.4
Likely to post a photo or video to Web in coming year6,50415.22,7086.25,44412.922,09911.9
Engaged in any social networking activity4,36410.13,1387.22,7506.512,3846.7
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of German, UK, French and U.S. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 30 April, 2006, n= 15,234, Germany; 15,152, UK; 12,711, France; 34,605, US.

M:Metrics noted in the UK market, "UMTS operator 3 has the highest percentage of socially networked subscribers creating their own content, at 17.4 percent. In the U.S., T-Mobile has the highest penetration, at 10 percent, in the French market SFR leads with 7.1 percent and in the German market it's O2, with 10.6 percent of its base using at least one of the applications."

Mark Donovan at M:Metrics said, "As we have seen with the rise in MySpace, YouTube and Flickr, there is a substantial population of connected creators on the Web. With as many as 10 percent of mobile subscribers participating in this activity over the operator network, there is a sizable business here across the entire mobile sector, which will only grow when more of these sites fully integrate mobile access."

Paul Goode at M:Metrics added, "The mobile content industry has learnt that the ringtone and games markets are not just about the youth and are broadening their offerings accordingly. This is not just older groups catching up, but also the youth moving on to become creators rather than just the consumers. Social networking is the most youth-driven category of mobile content."

Below are the findings of its April Benchmark Survey.

German Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications
M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: April 2006
ActivitySubscribers (1000s)PctPct Change
Sent Text Message34,71379.8%0.5%
Used Photo Messaging8,36419.2%(0.7%)
Purchased Ringtone3,0126.9%(4.1%)
Used Personal E-Mail2,7066.2%(2.6%)
Browsed News and Information1,8264.2%2.6%
Used Mobile Instant Messenger1,5613.6%3.4%
Used Work E-Mail1,3483.1%7.3%
Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver1,2863.0%0.1%
Downloaded Mobile Game1,0612.4%(2.8%)
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of German mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 30 April, 2006, n= 15,234

U.K. Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications
M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: April 2006
ActivitySubscribers (1000s)PctPct Change
Sent Text Message36,39584.6%1.4%
Used Photo Messaging12,67929.5%7.9%
Browsed News and Information6,44915.0%34.7%
Used Personal E-Mail2,8916.7%12.0%
Purchased Ringtone2,7436.4%2.0%
Downloaded Mobile Game2,0544.8%13.3%
Used Mobile Instant Messenger1,7294.0%15.3%
Used Work E-Mail1,2873.0%15.9%
Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver1,0192.4%(3.4%)
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of U.K. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 30 April, 2006, n= 15,152

French Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications
M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: April 2006
ActivitySubscribers (1000s)PctPct Change
Sent Text Message29,15369.4%0.0%
Used Photo Messaging7,32917.5%0.0%
Browsed News and Information3,0867.3%0.0%
Purchased Ringtone2,8446.8%0.0%
Used Personal E-Mail2,2845.4%0.0%
Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver1,3223.1%0.0%
Used Mobile Instant Messenger1,1502.7%0.0%
Used Work E-Mail7811.9%0.0%
Downloaded Mobile Game4391.0%0.0%
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of French mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 30 April, 2006, n= 12,711

U.S. Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications
M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: April 2006
ActivitySubscribers (1000s)PctPct Change
Sent Text Message65,17135.0%0.5%
Used Photo Messaging20,97211.3%3.9%
Purchased Ringtone18,1119.7%(1.3%)
Browsed News and Information18,0659.7%(2.2%)
Used Personal E-Mail12,8976.9%(3.0%)
Used Mobile Instant Messenger11,6826.3%(0.2%)
Used Work E-Mail7,3644.0%(3.0%)
Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver6,7313.6%(3.4%)
Downloaded Mobile Game4,4602.4%(10.0%)
Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of U.S. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 30 April, 2006, n= 34,605