Study: Top 10% of Twitter users do 90% of the tweeting

Tue Jun 2, 2009 11:00AM EDT

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So, signed up for Twitter, posted your first tweet, but never bothered to tweet again? You're not alone, according to a recent survey, which found that a "small contingent" of chatty Twitterers account for the vast majority of Twitter updates.

The recent Harvard Business study took a random sample of about 300,000 Twitter users and monitored their activity in May, then compared the results with findings for other big social networks. (Still not hip to Twitter? Click here for the scoop.)

Among the findings: Turns out that 55 percent of Twitters are women, compared to 45 percent men. However, it also happens that men have 15 percent more followers than women, and that both men and women are more likely to follow men rather than women. That's a "stunning" development for the Harvard Business researchers, who found that most other social networks are far more centered on content created by women.

Also interesting: The fact that the "typical" Twitter user tweets "very rarely," with the median number of "lifetime tweets" for a given Twitter user is … well,  just one, while about half of all Twitters update their feeds barely once every 74 days, according to the study.

Meanwhile, the top 10 percent of Twitter busybodies are creating 90 percent of the content on Twitter, the survey found; compare that to the findings for other social networks, where the top 10 percent of users account for just 30 percent of the activity.

OK, so what's the deal? One possibility, according to the researchers: Twitter is less like a "two-way, peer-to-peer" social network (such as Facebook) and more like a "one-to-many publishing service" (such as Wikipedia).

So, let's do our own quick Twitter survey: How often do you tweet (if you're on Twitter)? Every day, more than once a day? Rarely? Never?

Want to follow me on Twitter? Click here!

Related:
New Twitter Research: Men Follow Men and Nobody Tweets [Conversation Starter]

Comments on Study: Top 10% of Twitter users do 90% of the tweeting

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  • 3 Posted by dcsoccer25 on Tue Jun 2, 2009 3:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    I don't have one. I do have a regular blog which I update every couple weeks or so. Just whenever something riles me up enough to write about it.

  • 4 Posted by nighteye19 on Tue Jun 2, 2009 4:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    I believe it. I signed up for twitter once after having a Facebook and Myspace account up and running. I found no real useful purpose for Twitter. It just seemed kind of like a dumb idea, but I'm sure the kiddies love it.

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