World’s largest meeting network passes 130m user milestone
World’s largest meeting network passes 130m user milestone
London based Badoo is now the largest social network to ever come out of the UK
03 November 2011, London: Badoo, the location-based meeting network that helps users meet new people in their local area, has today announced it has surpassed 130 million members worldwide—a 62% growth from this time last year. The company also announced it has over one million users now paying for premium services each month.
Badoo is currently available in 35 languages in 180 countries as a service to users via Badoo.com and various social and mobile platforms as an iPhone, Android, Facebook and Blackberry applications.
Badoo’s staggering growth is partly due to its highly successful ‘Freemium’ business model, whereby the majority of the services available to users are free. In addition, users can choose to pay a small amount to receive a promoted status and increase the visibility of their profile. These ‘pay for promotion’ features and other revenue streams such as subscriptions are currently generating $100+ million in consumer spending per annum.
COO Bart Swanson said, “We are delighted to have achieved such significant growth, especially in the last 12 months. With approximately 125,000 new users signing up every day, and over seven billion monthly page views, we are continuing to grow at an impressive rate. Badoo's success, and in particular the fast growth of its mobile app, is testament to consumers' desire for immediate, useful apps that help them connect with the world around them.”
Badoo successfully enables people to meet by taking them away from their mobile or computer screens and introducing them in the real world. The location-based service gives its users instantaneous results, allowing people around the globe to immediate connect, chat, and meet up with other people nearby.
“We are moving beyond the constraints of internet-based friendships and long distance relationships. Badoo enables users to meet people nearby in a fast and efficient manner,” adds Mr Swanson.
To become a member, users register and create a personal profile including their age, gender, a photograph and a description of the types of people they are looking to meet. Individuals can then message each other and choose to meet offline. Additionally, users may pay to be introduced to a larger number of users in their area and for their profile to be given more visibility on the site for a limited period of time.