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Twitter Is an Unknown for 69 Percent of Americans

While 45 percent of advertisers believe it will explode in the coming years

Jul 30, 2009 12:58 GMT  ·  By
Twitter may be invading the media but the average American still doesn't know much about the service
   Twitter may be invading the media but the average American still doesn't know much about the service

Twitter's the hottest thing on the web, if you believe all of the hype. The media just can't get enough of it and it's not just the tech media, it's the mainstream news outlets as well. So, surely, most people must have heard of Twitter by now. Well, not really, as a new report by Harris Interactive, partnering with LinkedIn Research Network, found that 69 percent of US adults surveyed didn't have enough knowledge about the service to have an opinion about it.

That is in stark contrast with advertisers, of which only 17 percent admitted they didn't know enough about Twitter to have an opinion. Looking at these numbers it would seem strange that so many are clueless despite the extended media coverage but it isn't as clear cut as it looks. That's because the other options asked the respondents to predict the future of Twitter, a daunting task for even the most knowledgeable expert on social media.

Still, 12 percent of Americans believed that Twitter had a long way to go and that it would grow exponentially in the coming years. Another 12 percent believed that Twitter had reached its full potential and that it wouldn't move into the mainstream, staying in the realm of younger people and the media. But the best part was the 8 percent who were ready to move on, believing Twitters heyday had come and gone.

The advertisers though have a much clearer vision, with 45 percent of them confident Twitter will continue to grow. Only 21 percent of them think that the microblogging service will stay where it is, while a further 17 percent believe there's something new coming.

Asking regular people or even advertisers to forecast the future of Twitter may have little relevance in actually predicting the outcome but it does provide an interesting perspective on how the service is viewed by the general public.

“Although those of us who watch cable newscasts can’t help but notice their proclivity to invite us to follow the show or host on Twitter, it does not seem as though Twitter has made it mainstream yet, let alone to its edge. While advertisers and marketers expect Twitter to grow, its effectiveness as a marketing tool will most likely hinge on consumer education: consumers need to learn more about what it is, why they should pay attention to it, and why they should 'tweet'.” the authors of the report conclude.