eMarketer has just released the latest figures on social networks (Q1/2013): Facebook ist still #1, but is being challenged by its contenders.

The figures have been taken from GlobalWebIndex’s “Stream Social: Quarterly Social Platforms Update.” and show clearly, that a lot has happened behind Facebook: quite a few second-place contenders are fighting for the spot behind the leader, with Google+ out front at 26% of internet users. Google+ registered a growth in their active users base (using the service at least once in the past month) 33% between Q2 2012 and Q1 2013. While Facebook has seen its total number of active users increase by 35% between Q2 2012 and Q1 2013, Twitter is currently the fastest-growing social platform in the world, with a 44% growth in the same period.

Facebook
Google+
YouTube
Twitter
Sina Weibo

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Some great business ideas seem so simple we wonder why no one ever thought of them before.

The backstory behind a bunch of household names, and tips to open your mind to inspiration.

At the heart of any successful business is a great idea. Some seem so simple we wonder why nobody thought of them before. Others are so revolutionary we wonder how anybody could’ve thought of them at all.

But those great ideas don’t come on command. And that leaves lots of would-be entrepreneurs asking the same question: How did everybody else get inspiration to strike—and how can we work the same magic?

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324445904578283792526004684.html?mod=e2fb#

Smartphone Penetration by Age Group

Nielsen recently published a study that revealed that only 43% of all US mobile phones users own a smartphone, while most subscribers under the age of 44 use smartphones.

Smartphones are most popular in the group of 25-34 aged, with 62 percent of them reported to own smartphones. And among those 18-24 and 35-44 years old the smartphone penetration rate is hovering near 54 percent.

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