January 2nd, 2009
Search Trends for Group SMS and Microblogging Services in India
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Here’s some interesting data on search trends for group SMS and microblogging services in India using Google Insights for Search data for 2008.
All four services — SMSGupShup, Twitter, Vakow and Google SMS Channel — show a rising trend. SMSGupShup is far ahead of the others, Twitter is second and Vakow and Google SMS Channel are still to become popular. It’s interesting to note that Twitter overtook SMSGupShup in serach volumes during November, due to the interest in the #mumbai Twitterstream for the 11/26 Mumbai terror attck.
The data is consistent with Alexa traffic data for India which ranks SMSGupShup at #429, Twitter at #549, and Vakow at #4205.
What’s even more interesting is the state-wise interest in the four services. Interest in Google SMS Channel is limited to NCR and interest in Vakow is limited to NCR and Maharashtra. Interest in Twitter has spread beyond NCR and Maharashtra to Karnataka and Tamilnadu and interest for SMSGupShup has spread beyond these four states to Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. There seems to be a clear diffusion pattern for these group SMS services in India: NCR to Maharashtra to Karnataka/ Tamilnadu to Gujarat, then elsewhere. Also, none of these services seem to be particularly popular in North and East India.
