Examining the Twitter audience

An estimated 20% of Internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others. This represents a significant increase over previous surveys in conducted a couple of years ago by the Pew Internet and Life Project. In 2009 approximately 11% of Internet users said they use a status-update service.

Meanwhile, a recent study by eMarketer.com suggests that the Twitter audience may not be as large as you think. Yes, Twitterdom is exploding with activity. However, there is a difference between people who simply read Tweets and those who actively use the service.

According to analyst Paul Verner at eMarketer.com, “Twitter users are a sizable and growing bunch, but their numbers are considerably smaller than those disseminated by many media outlets and Twitter itself.”

Reports on Twitter usage vary widely. This week the company boasted about increased usage on its blog: "Twitter users now send more than 140 million tweets a day which adds up to a billion tweets every 8 days." However, companies that examine unique visitors to Twitter.com counted between 20 million and 26 million per month last year.

How do you use Twitter? Do you post updates often, or do you primarily enjoy reading updates from others?

Sources: eMarketer.com, Twitter.com, PewInternet.org

4 Comments to Examining the Twitter audience:

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Shirazi on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 2:24 AM

Twitter for me, initially, was me to thing. But I automated my blogs posts there when I started getting visitors from Twitter. It has a very short life. You can catch much only when you are online on Twitter. A lot goes unnoticed while you are away.

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	Deb Sistrunk on Thursday, March 24, 2011 9:45 AM Shirazi, there is a great deal of wisdom in your last sentence. Thanks for stopping by.

The Cubicle Chick on Tuesday, April 05, 2011 2:32 PM

I have come to rely on Twitter for breaking news and other items. But for me, my stream has become my community. I have met s many people on Twitter who have helped me and who've become a friend of mine IRL. So it is still growing, but it's value is immeasurable.


	Deb Sistrunk on Tuesday, April 05, 2011 9:05 PM TCC: You bring up a good point. Twitter is a good resource for breaking news. When the unrest in Egypt was headline news, Twitter was one of my sources for updated news. This is especially so when the UCLA graduate student created "Jan25Voices" to keep us updated on developments in Egypt after the country shut down the Internet. It's interesting that your stream has become your community. I had the same experience six years ago with my blog roll. I will say this -- that Twitter has enhanced my online experience, which began with blogging. Recently, a close friend told me that he thought Twitter was a passing phase. I disagree. I believe Twitter is here to stay. One of the things I enjoy is how some people are able to tell a hilarious story in 140 characters. I tip my hat to those creative types. TCC, thanks so much for stopping by.

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