8 Social Media Apps That You Won’t Have Tried Yet

Tired of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter? Then you need to check out these 8 social media apps that are on the rise.

In case you didn't get the status update, social media is big business. Facebook has a cool 1.23 billion users, over seventy million photos and videos are shared on Instagram everyday and Apple has reported that 300,000 apps have been added to their App store in the past year. It seems that everybody is vying to become the next Facebook sensation.

So if you’re feeling a little Snap Chat weary or your fed up with filtering, it’s time to spruce up your social media routine. Here are eight social media apps that you won’t have tried, but are set to be big...

1. Meerkat Get ready to hear the lingo 'Are you Meerkating this?' because, despite being only eight weeks old, Meerkat already has gained a huge amount of attention. It's a live streaming video app that enables users to broadcast what they’re up to over Twitter. With a click of a button, users tweet out a video link to all of their followers who can tune in and comment live. It was the breakthrough app from SXSW and it already counts Ashton Kutcher and Jared Leto among it’s 150,000 users.

2. Shots A whole platform dedicated to selfies, Shots only allows you to add photos through the front-facing camera, which then gets shared with other Shots users. Of course it also comes with the obligatory hotty-enhancing filters and is financially backed by Justin Bieber. We’re just surprised Kim K didn’t want in on the action.

3. Secrets Secrets allows you to post and comment with your friends anonymously, and when a friend likes a comment it becomes shared with their network too. Daily topics are also selected to stimulate discussion and help you connect with new users. Be prepared for gossip, funny anecdotes and some intriguing revelations.

4. Yik Yak Similar to Secret, Yik Yak also is anonymous, but instead of posting to your friends, you connect with fellow users nearby. It’s proving popular with student campuses and you can also take a peek at what other Yik Yak users are saying elsewhere by changing your location feed.

5. FireChat FireChat allows you to chat with people around you, even when there’s no Internet connection or phone signal. It cleverly works through users' Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals to connect to other devices within a given range. It was a favourite amongst revellers at Burning Man last year, and is a download must for any festival-goer.

6. Bubbly Bubbly is described as the ‘Instagram of voice’. It allows users to share short voice messages - ‘Bubbles’ - with their friends and followers. You can also get creative by adding filters, effects and background music.

7. Yo Yo literally forwards a “Yo" notification to your friends to let them know you are thinking about them. There are three different varieties available to send: you have the straight up “Yo” (nothing more than a notification), a “Yo" with a link attached, or “Yo Location” (clue’s in the title). The fuss-free simplicity of this app will come into its own when smart watches start to become mainstream (aka when the Apple Watch is released).

8. WeChat WeChat is your all-in-one messaging service that allows you to text, call, video call, share moments and play games with anyone around the world for free. Think a mash up of Facebook, What’sApp and Viber. It’s been big in China for a while, but with the likes of BuzzFeed getting an official account (they send you one or two viral stories a day) it’s set to get bigger in the UK market.