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Twitter Just A Blip So Far

by Jack Loechner, Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 8:16 AM

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TAGS: Social Networks, Research

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Findings of the Online The Harris Poll, conducted between March 31 and April 1, 2009, show that 51% of Americans do not use Twitter or have a MySpace or Facebook account. 48% of adults have either a MySpace or Facebook page, with 16% of adults updating their page at least once a day. While the media may have found Twitter, only 5% of Americans are currently using it.

There are some substantial differences in who is and who isn't using these social networking sites, says the report:

74% of those aged 18-34 years old have a Facebook or MySpace account but this quickly drops off the older one gets. Only 24% of those 55 and older have an account
8% of 18-34 year olds use Twitter, 7% of those 35-44 use it, 4% of those aged 45-54 and just 1% of those 55 and older
Men and women use Twitter at the same levels (5% each), but women are more likely to have a Facebook or MySpace account (52% versus 45%)
Two in five people with a high school degree or less have a Facebook or MySpace account compared to 55% of those with some college and 52% of those with at least a college degree.

There has been some discussion about whether these social networking sites may, at some point, become a threat to search engines such as Yahoo! or Google. Right now, that doesn't seem to be an issue, concludes the study, as 45% of adults believe the sites are popular, but they won't pose a real threat to the domination of search sites while just one in ten say they may become a threat. 46% of Americans are not at all sure. Even among the largest users of the social networking sites, 18-34 year olds, 62% say they will not become a real threat to the search engines.

Future Of Search Sites (All Online Adults; % of Age Group)
	*Age Group*
*Respondent Opinion*	*Total*	*18-34*	*35-44*	*45-54*	*55+*
Facebook or MySpace will never pose any real threat to the domination of search sites such as Google or Yahoo	45%	62	46	39	28
Social network sites are becoming so dominant that they may become a real threat to search sites like Google or Yahoo	9	7	9	6	11
Not at all sure	46	31	45	55	61
Source: Harris Interactive, April 2009 Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

While the younger age groups are all about the social network sites, they haven't yet migrated to Twitter. The report concludes that if they had found it before the media had, there is a stronger possibility they would be increasing their usage, but they may already be looking for the next big thing.

Online Social Network Usage - By Age & Gender (All Online Adults; % of Age Group)
		*Age Group*				*Gender*
*Network Usage*	*Total*	*18-34*	*35-44*	*45-54*	*55+*	*Male*	*Female*
Have a Facebook or MySpace account	48%	74	47	41	24	45	52
Update Facebook or MySpace account at least once a day	16	29	17	10	3	14	18
Use Twitter (Net)	5	8	7	4	1	5	5
Follow people on Twitter	5	8	6	4	1	5	5
Use Twitter to send messages	3	4	5	1	*	3	2
None of these	51	25	50	59	76	54	47'
Source: Harris Interactive, April 2009 Multiple responses allowed; indicates less than 0.5%*

Online Social Network Usage - By Education (All Online Adults; % of Group)
		*Education*
*Network Usage*	*Total*	*HS or less*	*Some College*	*College Grad+*
Have a Facebook or MySpace account	48%	40	55	52
Update Facebook or MySpace account at least once a day	16	14	18	16
Use Twitter (Net)	5	3	7	6
Follow people on Twitter	5	3	6	6
Use Twitter to send messages	3	1	4	4
None of these	51	59	43	47
Source: Harris Interactive, April 2009 Multiple responses allowed; indicates less than 0.5%*

For additional information from Harris Interactive, please visit here.

This commentary is insightful. I recommend it to others.

4 people recommend this article.

6 comments on "Twitter Just A Blip So Far"

Richard Grills from Millenium Consulting

commented on: May 09, 2009 at 2:57 PM

I am very new to Twitter. I signed up a few weeks ago and did nothing with it. My son suggested it was the best and greatest thing since networking was invented so I decided to give it a try again. I started posting a few tweats and opened up the floodgates for people to start following me.
Since Friday 15 people started following me. Most of these people are following 1000's of others. I guess I am wondering how you people view the concept of receiving and evaluating 1000's of notes that you barely have time to read let alone follow up on. Many are just links to pages like this one (excellent so I joined.)
I am in the over 55 crowd and have been involved with Internet marketing for approximately 16 years. I thought I was keeping up but lately I feel like I am barely hanging on.
Richard Grills, Millenium Consulting http://www.mmwebmarketing.com
Thomas Trumble from evoke interaction

commented on: May 07, 2009 at 7:01 AM

Louis - my thoughts exactly, plus is this Americans in general or the 74% of Americans who are online which would make these numbers even more impressive.
Girard Bolton from GFB Services

commented on: May 06, 2009 at 11:12 AM

I appreciate the informative insight you've shared about social network sites.
I've been using twitter since July 2008 and find it to be a very valuable resource.
You can read my article spotlighting twitter at http://twitter.com/TwitterGFB3 when my followers reached the 100 person milestone.
As of this morning... there are 1390 people following my updates.
By The Way: I fall in the 45-54 age group and have accounts at MySpace, FaceBook, and Twitter.
You can follow me at http://twitter.com/gfb3
Keep up the good work!
Girard Frank Bolton, III. Mobile Alabama
Rebecca Rachmany from AdsVantage

commented on: May 06, 2009 at 9:39 AM

The question about social networks replacing Google makes sense only to extremely connected and somewhat insightful people. The idea is that search today provides results based on who has the biggest advertising and SEO budget, rather than providing real value. Thinkers in the social networking area (most notably Robert Scoble) talk about the idea that even for consumer related questions, like "Where can I buy a new television?' you would rather ask your friends through twitter/facebook/friendfeed than search Google.
Most people aren't connected enough to have this be effective at this point, though Mahalo is based on the idea that search, as it is today, needs to be replaced or at least supplemented.
In other words, fundamentally, people didn't understand the question. Even if they did understand the question, people's opinions are not a gauge of what is or isn't likely to happen in the future in this space.
Louis Rivera from Collaborative Media Innovation

commented on: May 06, 2009 at 9:15 AM

This is an interesting way to position this research. "51% of Americans do not use Twitter or have a MySpace or Facebook account." Another way of looking at it is that in a few short years Social Media has penetrated approximately 49% of the US population as a communication medium. 75% of 18-34 year olds. This represents more than a new technology, it is a powerful disruptive cultural shift in how people, particularly young people stay in contact and disseminate information about what's happening now. I didn't understand the dominance question about SM replacing Google or Yahoo; for the most part they do entirely different things.Thanks for sharing the research. ~Louis Rivera: CEO Collaborative Media Innovation
Vincent Vandeputte from You View.tv

commented on: May 06, 2009 at 8:42 AM

crazy thing, Twitter... I don't really understand the value of it but then I was late in understanding Facebook too... Nobody I know personally really uses Twitter, everybody knows it and speaks about it. And now there seems to be more negative publicity going around about Twitter than anything else. Crazy!
Vincent Vandeputte, member of the You-ViewTV team, makers of http://www.LetsCookit.tv

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JACK LOECHNER

Center for Media Research

6 comments on "Twitter Just A Blip So Far"

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