Usage and Growth of Twitter

NEWS, twitter • Comments (0)

Mar 12

With Twitter reaching 50 million tweets per day, it represents a significant platform for both information communication and dissemination purposes. Indeed, as one analyst pointed out, the real question for investors is whether Twitter is a communications utility or a media company. ) And as Twitter interfaces become increasingly sophisticated and enterprise-friendly, the popularity of the system will continue to grow.

This week, security firm Barracuda Labs released its Annual Report 2009 which covered in large part the potential security threat that accounts on Twitter may pose to ordinary users. Their finding was that one in eight accounts created might be considered malicious, suspicious, or otherwise misused in some criminal fashion. However, they also offered up some interesting statistics on the use of the Twitter platform. For example, Barracuda's definition of a true twitter user was someone:

• With at least 10 followers or more
• Who followed 10 or more people themselves
• And who had posted at least ten tweets.

Only 21% of Twitter users fell within those parameters. Approximately a third of Twitter users had more followers than they themselves were following. And with regard to actual tweeting activity, Barracuda Labs found that the most active individuals transmitting their information in tweets were those whose following hovered *around* 1000 registered users.

There are additional statistics in the report regarding the usage and growth curve of Twitter that make it interesting reading.