Are you a typical Twitter user?
By Davey Winder in Editorial
Posted in Twitter, Blog, Internet on
Having been a member of Twitter (@happygeek) since Feb 2007 I’m not convinced there is a such a thing as a typical Twitter user. InSites Consulting begs to differ, however.
According to the Ultimate Twitter Study, which analysed some 50,000 Tweets around the globe using qualitative, quantitative and observational research methods the typical Twitter user is a man in his late twenties or early thirties who is tech savvy and works in IT, media/advertising or consulting.
The interesting thing with this profile being that it bears more than a passing resemblance to the profile of a typical early adopter of the Internet itself, says a twenty something tech savvy media type at the time. That’s where the resemblance ends though, as the Ultimate Twitter Study reckons that your average Twitterer is pretty influential offline courtesy of being an industry expert, journalist or blogger for example.
Looking beyond the personal profile the study reveals, if that’s the right word, how people tend to use Twitter as “a social network of friends and/or business contacts enabling them to share and discover interesting, exciting, inspiring or funny news or hyperlinks in a very fast way” - can I say well duh at this point?
Tom De Ruyck, a Senior Research Consultant at InSites Consulting, reckons that “Twitter is a conversation hive” and one with a real value for “brands to tap into it and learn from what consumers are saying about them”. I feel another ‘duh’ coming on.
“People often send tweets in the heat of the moment: when they experience something positive or negative with a product. This immediacy is never seen before” De Ruyck continues, obviously having never heard of Usenet, Internet Forums or Blogs.
He could be on to something, though, when he argues that personal blogs in general are being diluted in value courtesy of the amount of time it takes to maintain them. While De Ruyck admits that big blogs run by teams of professional journalists will continue, he says that the individual blogs are “disappearing one by one” and the Twitter-style “micro-blogging is the new, more efficient version of the amateur blog”.
Rated: 100% (1 votes)
Loading ...Comment by Chris Snape - November 16, 2009 on 1:15 pm
Say what you like about the study - It has got me pretty much bang to rights.
Pingback by - November 16, 2009 on 1:21 pm
[…] IT PRO: Blogs: Davey Winder: Are you a typical Twitter user? www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/daveyw/2009/11/16/are-you-a-typical-twitter-user – view page – cached , Having been a member of Twitter (@happygeek) since Feb 2007 I’m not convinced there is a such a thing as a typical Twitter user. InSites Consulting begs to […]
Comment by Tom De Ruyck - November 16, 2009 on 3:48 pm
Hi,
I can follow some of your comments. It’s a press release so not all the details are in, but if you want to know more, check ultimatetwitterstudy.com. The full results will bring some perspective!
Regards,
Tom
Pingback by - December 10, 2009 on 11:33 am
[…] up performances, a somewhat surreal comedian. While I am not convinced there is such a thing as a typical Twitter user, it’s unlikely that Noble would fit such a category. So it came as no real surprise when he […]
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