The operator launched in Ifland in July 2021, and time spent per month per user is also rising
The South Korean operator SK Telecom (SKT) says it has more than 1.1 million monthly active (MAU) of its Ifland metaverse, launched in July 2021. The figures were part of its earnings statement for 2021.
SK Telekom also told investors that it had almost 280,000 users in the month after its launch, and as well as the rise in the number of users, the time they are spending on it has more than doubled – from 26 minutes to 61 minutes a month.
The company said in a statement: “Going forward, Ifland plans to continue its growth by opening up the platform to partners, introducing its own economic system, and expanding into overseas markets.”
SKT says it has received more than 1,500 requests for partnerships.
Slap in the Facebook?
This looks like a mighty impressive engagement level in six months and is in sharp contrast with the luke-warm response Facebook, now rebranded Meta, has received for its plans for the metaverse, not to mention the $10 billion loss sustained by its Reality Lab divison in 2021.
Raj Shah, a technology analyst for Publicis Sapient, a digital consultancy firm, was quoted in the New York Times saying, “It is time for a reality check on Meta’s position for the metaverse. The metaverse is a long way from being profitable or filling the gap in ad revenue after Apple’s [privacy] policy change.”
Facebook suffered a net drop in users globally for the first time in last quarter compared with the previous one, as younger users switch to TikTok and Meta’s answer to TikTok, Reels, is failing to reel users in.
A week ago, Meta’s stock fell 26%, taking $230 billion off the value of the company formerly known as Facebook, and has continued to slide meaning Meta has lost about a third of its value in a week.