KPCB latest report on digital trends: all the numbers you need to know

A report recently showcased at the Code Conference in the US by tech analyst Mary Meeker brilliantly highlights the important differences between digital market trends across the globe. Though extensive, we’ve trimmed down what we thought are the most significant findings in the report.

What do we like how?

Facebook, Twitter and somewhat interestingly Pinterest, are the most notable leaders in terms of social media traffic referrals. Facebook leads the pack hosting 21% of all interactions, while Twitter has only 1%.

The top news publisher on Facebook is Buzzfeed, followed by Huffington Post and ABC News. Based on shares, likes and comments, Buzzfeed is getting 39-million interactions per month and Huffington Post 28-million.

On Twitter, the BBC beats runners up the New York Times and Mashable with a total of 3-million shares per month.

Buzzfeed is the poster child for what content is being consumed on the web today, and how. As of May 2014, more than 50% of its content is accessed through mobile devices, while more than 75% is done through social media.

The type of content that’s seen most traffic has been Buzzfeed’s quiz articles, driving more than 40-million monthly visitors to the site’s domain. List articles, or listicles, drive more than 17-million monthly visitors. Buzzfeed videos get 13-million monthly users.

Who’s where on what?

The study shows that Indonesians spend the most time in front of screens with an average of nine hours a day. Italians, on the other side of the spectrum, only spend five hours and 17 minutes staring at smartphones, laptops, TVs and tablets.

The data was taken from a study done this year by media and communications company, Millward Brown, that surveyed 16 to 44-year-olds across the globe.

South Africans spend seven hours and 18 minutes of their average day looking at screens. Computers and smartphones outshine TVs and tablets with over four hours spent on them. The Americans and British spend most of their time in front of the tellies with nearly three hours spent in front of them.

Smartphones are the ultimate winner in terms of time spent on a device, worldwide. On a global scale, as much as 25% of time spent on the net is done through smartphones. Africa and Asia are leading when it comes to mobile popularity — in terms of web usage, 38% of Africans and 37% of Asians rely on their mobiles.

How are brands making moola?

Meeker argues that online ads equal great content. As YouTube collects data on how users engage with ads, Google continues to improve the user experience and advertiser ROI. Google TrueView is a game-changer as advertisers are forced to perform in order to grab users’ attention, thus ads have become shorter and better.

In terms of ad revenue, the report found mobile a much bigger market than desktop and is also showing much faster growth. Based on 2013’s figures, mobile app revenue trumps mobile ad revenue and consists of a massive 68% of the total US$38-billion pie.

Furthermore, as you might know, apps are replacing TV channels. YouTube obviously leads, with Music, Gaming and Sports being the most popular channel genres. Music channels on YouTube claim 85-million users per month with 166% year-on-year growth.

The report discusses a lot more, such as the future of commerce, payments and bitcoin, digital music, video streaming and personalisation.

Dive right into the rabbit hole yourself and take a look at the full SlideShare presentation from KPCB: