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eMarketer has a couple great post about the growth of social networks around the world. One of the more interesting tidbits is that Facebook usage is actually not declining but holding steady across the US as it grows around the world.

Plus Google+ is actually doing better then many people think because people assume if it’s not taking off in the US then it’s not taking off around the world. However, it’s taking off and doing well around the world.

Which Social Networks Are Growing Fastest Worldwide?

Behind Facebook, there was a crowded field of second-place contenders, with Google+ out front at 26% of internet users. In the US, Google+ gets limited attention, though its user base is growing. Worldwide, however, Google+ has been much more successful. Given that YouTube was right behind, in use by one-quarter of active internet users, there’s no question that Google, which owns YouTube, is giving Facebook a run for its money in the global social network space.

Emerging Markets Drive Facebook User Growth

Asia-Pacific leads the rest of the world not only in Facebook user growth, but in sheer number of Facebook users. By 2017, eMarketer estimates, 616 million internet users in Asia-Pacific will use Facebook at least monthly, with nearly half that number coming from India alone. Latin America is the second-largest region in terms of number of Facebook users, and fast growth in the Middle East and Africa will push that region’s Facebook population ahead of North America’s this year.
Read more at http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Emerging-Markets-Drive-Facebook-User-Growth/1009875#jjtiXUmBPOh2THdy.99

A lot of report has been released this month on the habits of the UK consumer. How we spend our time online across varies age groups to how we’re picking up the economy and beating the odds during this recession.

However, Deloitte has put out a great report looking at the habits of people in the UK across video games, newspapers and digital media. The paper also looks at the divide between the have and the have nots. If you want to understand the evolving UK consumer then this is the best place to start in 2013: Deloitte’s Media Consumer Survey.

The battle rages on between search, display and social. Everyone is fighting for the same piece of the pie. I’ve often felt it’s never black and while or one channel over another. It’s about all channels working towards a common gaol, that makes sense and is SMART.

We find that display ads significantly increase search conversion. Both search and display ads also exhibit significant dynamics that improve their effectiveness and ROI over time. Finally, in addition to increasing search conversion, display ad exposure also increases search clicks, thereby increasing search advertising costs. After accounting for these three effects, we find that each $1 invested in display and search leads to a return of $1.24 for display and $1.75 for search ads, which contrasts sharply with the estimated returns based on standard metrics.

If you work in paid search or display, then this is some required reading this weekend.

What can a 14-month study with 20M consumers tell you about tablet advertising? A lot!

Based on 14 months of testing that reached 20 million users, VivaKi’s reveals best practices and key findings for ads on tablets. The report let you explore where and when people are using the devices, and explore first-person examples of successful ads. Study: bit.ly/TabletLane  (works on tablets)

Features:

• Fun, interactive features explore where and when tablets are used and their history.
• Hundreds of interactive and pop-up visualizations of data from an unprecedented 14-month study.
• Interviews with leaders in the tablet ad industry.
• A compilation of key, up-to-date data on the tablet market
• Ability to share any of the interactive infographics
• A visual table of contents for quick and easy navigation

An essay and extensive research also puts tablets into their business and cultural context.  With Google launching enhanced campaigns and more households owning one, if not two tablets. This isn’t just required reading. It’s the future, already in the present.