Instagram is having a blast this year. They now boast an impressive 400 million active monthly users which clearly overtakes Twitter which has 316 million active users, Forbes reported. The app gained 100 million new followers in just nine months. Considering the impressive growth, Facebook, which bought Instagram for a mere $1 billion, has nowhere to go but up.

Instagram's users are now mainly outside the US, their press release revealed. To be precise, an easy 75% of them comprise the app's active users. This progress is well-timed as Instagram is poised to increase its ad revenue by opening up the app to advertisers in more than 30 countries.

Ad revenues are projected to hit $1.5 billion next year and up to $2.8 billion in 2017. For this year, eMarketer estimates that Instagram's global ad revenue is at $600 million. This push into ad revenues puts it in very stiff competition with Twitter which has, for a long time, enjoyed a larger share of the pot.

This surge in advertising revenue will account for 14% of Facebook's total mobile ad revenue in 2017. Instagram is Facebook's only other wholly-owned platform that offers advertising and potential clients are clambering up to get accommodated.

More than half of the 100 million new members of Instagram come from Europe and Asia. The countries which contributed the most new users are Brazil, Japan, and Indonesia. Notable new members are former athletes David Beckham and Caitlyn Jenner.

CNBC reported that Twitter's slowdown is not just due to the aggressive rise of rivals like Instagram and even Snapchat. Interim CEO Jack Dorsey admitted that he was "not satisfied" with Twitter's audience growth even though they have been posting steady progress in the past years. Apparently, Twitter's very business model is preventing it from matching the rapid rise of its rivals.

Are you on Instagram too? What do you think Twitter can do to appeal to more people as less and less attention is put their way? Share this article and let the world know your opinion!