Some 13% of online adults in the US say they use Twitter, up from 8% who said so in November 2010, according to a new report by Pew Research. Meanwhile, Twitter use among men has doubled, from 7% in November, to 14% in May 2011.
Below, additional findings from the 2011 Twitter report, issued by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Adoption Highest Among Non-Whites
Fully one in four surveyed online African-Americans (25%) say they use Twitter at least occasionally (up from 18% in November) and 11% do so on a typical day.
Online Latinos remain strong Twitter users: 19% use Twitter (up from 13% in November) with roughly 5% doing so on a typical day.
Use Among Men Doubles
More men are using Twitter: 14% of Twitter users are now men, compared with 11% of women. By contrast, in November 2010, women (10%) were more likely than men (7%) to use Twitter.
Twitter still remains popular among younger adults and those with a college education: 18% of Internet users age 18-29 use the microblogging site (up from 14% in November), as do 16% of those with a college degree.
Twitter use has doubled, however, among online adults age 25-34, to 19% in May 2011, from 9% in November.
Among those age 35-44, adoption has also grown significantly, to 14%, from 8% in November.
Mobile use is strong: 95% of Twitter users say they own a cell phone and 54% report accessing the service via mobile phone.
About the data: Findings are from a national survey conducted via landline and cell phones, in English and Spanish, among 2,277 adults age 18+ from April 26 to May 22, 2011.The report, Twitter Update 2011, was authored by Aaron Smith, Pew Internet & American Life Project, June 1, 2011, accessed on June 6, 2011.
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Does anyone else thinks its just a bit of a stretch to start an article off by saying, "Some 13% of online adults in the US say they use Twitter" when the basis of that percentage is sample size of just under 2300 people ? Am I missing something here?
We really need to change how we view these numbers. 13% would equal 26mil US adults who use the net. The tweet volume ranges from 100m-120m per day which an average of 4 per account. So world wide which 60-70% is international this poll gives false data.
I do not consider a person who tweets 1 time a day or less a user. Just like I do not consider a person who logs into Facebook once a month a user which is how they count it.
This data is really bad when used for marketing purposes. If you check in for 5 minutes to tweet marketers will never reach you. So those people should be purged from the data in my opinion.
And if I have an account am I more or less likely to say I am an active user? The Tweet volume is the key to determine the user amounts. I did a study in my stream and my stream is filled with more heavy Tweeters and it came to 4 per account per day.
Something to think about.
Ben -- Did you read over Pew's methodology? (http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2007/twitter-users-cell-phone-2011-demographics) The statistical error rate for respondents with cell phones was ~ 2.7%, so your concerns about sample size are really not a big issue. Pew did a fine job of explaining the survey's methodology. I'm sure they have statisticians overseeing data collection and analysis. So have confidence in their work.
Hi, Ben. Here are a few useful URLs for more insight on survey sample sizes:
http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Soc_participants.shtml
http://www.robertniles.com/stats/sample.shtml
The reality is, more people (IMHO) in the business or technology world would use Twitter more often if they used tools to manage their online social life. At our studio, we use HootSuite, which gives us the ability to update all of our social platforms (both business & personal) with one interface. Plus, we're able to see analytics and schedule tweets, posts etc. . . days, weeks or even months in advance.
Really guys, links on how MOE are calculated? I know the math...thanks. I apologize if this comes off a little brash but I run up against this mode of thinking constantly in our industry. It's self serving and will eventually put you out of a job. You should re-read those explanations and ask your self again if they are true representations of lived reality.
Howie, good points on how we should re define those stats, very true.