• MediaMemo, Wednesday, January 19, 2011 1:30 PM

So, how much faith should marketers put in a Twitter user's self-reported geographic information? Not much, according to a new study from Palo Alto Research Center. After digging deeper into about 10,000 Twitter user profiles, it determined that about 66% of users entered "valid" geographic information -- and it uses the term "valid" loosely. "This includes those who merely entered their continent and, more commonly, those who entered geographic information in highly vernacular forms," according to PARC. Still while MediaMemo suggests that marketers take any volunteered profile information with a grain of salt, it does believe that the information has real marketing value.

For example, "If you're an advertiser trying to find a lot of Justin Bieber fans, this stuff may be very, very useful," MediaMemo writes. That's because, based on PARC's findings, about one out of every 200 Twitter users reports tweeting from within the tween idol's gravitational field -- whether it be "in Justin Biebers heart," "Bieberacademy," "Bieberville, California."

Read the whole story at MediaMemo »