MXit steaming ahead with 2.3 million users; adding 10k a day
Just heard in from Vasili at MXit’s PR. I’ve reproduced their latest release here in full. Impressive stats!
After just under two years, MXit, the free mobile instant messaging platform, has more than 2.3 million registered users.
In January 2006 the number of MXit users had increased to 360 038 from just 47 when the company launched a year earlier. This figure has increased more than six times in the past 10 months with a total of more than 2.3 million users as of 20 November 2006. The figure continues to increase at a rate of about 10 000 per day.
“With numbers like this, the MXit phenomenon is an ideal opportunity for advertisers to expose their brands to a captive audience in an uncluttered environment,†says general manager of MXit Darryn Foster.
New figures released in November indicate that the 12-18 age group, accounting for 44% of the user base, has overtaken the 19-25 age group, now accounting for 33%. Users over 25 make up 20% of the community and those under 12 only 3%.
“But don’t let these numbers fool you,†says Foster. “With MXit’s users being as old as 70, the popularity of the instant messaging chat service is creeping into the lives of adults as well.â€
When it comes to a provincial breakdown, Gauteng make up 28.58% of the MXit population, followed by the Western Cape with 26,73% and KwaZulu-Natal at 22.14%.
More males have registered on MXit, making up 58% of the population, with females making up 42% of the population.
“MXit has devised a code of safe practice. A safety message about not giving out personal details is provided whenever any user enters a chat room. Users can also report any problems to us through the abuse section of our forum,†says Foster.
“However, these figures are based on the details of approximately 50% of the community, those that have provided MXit with their details,†says Foster.
MXit’s popularity is further supported by recent research carried out in the United States showing that the Internet and mobile phones are changing the way teens define friendship and interact with their peers. American teens are now choosing instant messaging as a preferred means of interacting with their friends.
These are impressive figures and very encouraging indeed.
I’m interested to know how much of an impact cheap data charges and/or flat rate data charges have on sign up. I know, for example, that mobile data charges in South Africa are cheap as chips. Ditto for India. Yet in the UK, this is still such an unknown quantity with customers not having a clue how much something they download or use on their phones may cost in data charges. Particularly pertinent if you’re on pay as you go and only have a small amount of credit on your phone.
There are teenagers I know who are paranoid about doing *anything* on wap because they are convinced it like costs like £1 a minute. Which of course it doesn’t. But perception is reality…
Posted by technokitten on November 22nd, 2006 at 1:26 pm.Im out in South Africa at the moment and I can tell you data charges are a massive driver. It only costs R1 per MB for GPRS or something crazy like that.
Posted by jamescoops on November 23rd, 2006 at 10:31 am.You might like to look at the low broadband penetration in SA. A quick Google found a 2005 figure that suggested around 12% penetration, another 2006 figure pointing at 23% growth and this link that talks about South African broadband users over 300,000 http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=4421 . Seems that kids in SA are using IM on their mobile phones as an alternative to MSN on broadband.
Posted by David Whitewood on November 23rd, 2006 at 12:55 pm.One thing to bear in mind though David is that Mxit have been very good at achieving critical mass within specific social networks in South Africa. This is what Hotxt has to do if its going to generate the network fx that will make it work.
Posted by jamescoops on November 24th, 2006 at 10:05 am.