Twiddily diddily deet, tweet tweet, or “What’s up with Twitter these days?”
My comments about students and their use of social media in yesterday’s post created some good discussion and led me to my computer files for more information. Here are some of the more interesting things I found. The information is from November 2008 so while things have changed, they should still provide a reasonable snap shot of what’s going on out there…or do they?
Here are the key stats from last year’s PEW Internet & American Life study regarding the demographic of twitter users:
- 19% of online adults age 18-24 have used twitter or something like it
- 20% of online adults age 25-34 have used twitter or something like it
- 10% of online adults age 35-44 Â ” Â ” Â ” Â “
- 5% of online adults age 45-54 Â ” Â ” Â ” Â “
- 4% of online adults age 55-64 Â ” Â ” Â ” Â “
- 2% of online adults 65+ Â ” Â ” Â ” Â “
Other interesting twitter stats:
- 35% of twitter users live in urban areas
- 9% live in rural areas
- online Americans who live in lower income housing are more likely to use twitter
- 17% of Internet users in households earning less than $30,000 tweet
- 10% of Internet users in households earning more than $75,000 tweet
- 76% of twitter users use the Internet wirelessly
Twitter users are also more mobile in news consumption:
Here are some other interesting stats from PEW:
- median age of a twitter user is 31
- median age of a myspace user is 27
- media age of a facebook user is 26
- media age of a linkedin user is 40
So, Does that mean I’ve skewed the demographics UP, or screwed the demographics up? Not sure. Might mean both!
Big Foundation awards dinner tonight so have to pull the “black tie” out of the box. But I get to wear my new NC State cuff links. Sweet.
And finally, today is a big day for me and the HiceSchool Blog. Post No. 25. Only 75 to go before I hit the 100 days on campus mark.
25 of 100
5 comments
There’s been an Interesting back and forth on the “Who uses Twitter” discussion, particularly as it relates to the younger audience. Earlier this year, there appeared to be some evidence that teens weren’t really using Twitter. (http://bit.ly/25oYFO). But now, according to comScore, it appears that may be wrong. From Mashable’s coverage of the back and forth:
“According to new data from comScore, younger users – specifically those in the 12-17 and 18-24 year-old demographics – are Twitter’s fastest growing audience segment.” (http://bit.ly/14tXbi)
Guess the question is who knows who uses Twitter? Or better yet, who uses Twitter well?
I think it’s interesting that Mashable and PEW have such divergent opinions. The PEW research was actually done after the Mashable review. Who’s a guy to believe?
Tim, I think you are absolutely right with your last question “Who uses twitter well”. But that also depends on the vantage point. Most users probably think they do whereas a company/institution looking to get their brand out might say the user who just updates a “status” does not; rather those that share info, network and are those “Mavens” (as Gladwell put it) are the true ones to tap into.
Joe, stats can go any way depending on the data set and the question. “Who uses it” vs “Who signs up” are different questions. My gut says to go find out myself.
TJ: I agree with the “use it well” concept, but as far as research goes, I’ll take something from Pews well before I’ll accept what is reported on Mashable. Self-serving doesn’t begin to tell the story.
Joe – Just saw the new survey online this weekend:
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/17-Twitter-and-Status-Updating-Fall-2009.aspx?r=1
Dave
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