Twitter Use Not as Low as Previously Reported

For those who just can't get enough of Twitter stats, of which we have been getting quite a few lately, here comes another round that shows mostly the same numbers but with a different spin on them. According to the new report (PDF) from Hubspot, based on 4.5 million Twitter accounts, less than 10 percent of Twitter users can be considered inactive, somewhat contradicting earlier studies.

Most of the reports so far made Twitter's rise out to be just a fad with the majority of users barely participating in the process. At first glance the numbers coming from Hubspot seem to be confirming those results. This latest report shows that 55.50 percent of Twitter users aren't following anyone and 52.71 percent have no followers. This while 54.88 percent have never tweeted since signing up for the account. Another aspect the research focused on was how involved users were and the findings showed that 79.79 percent hadn't provided a homepage URL, 75.86 percent didn't have a profile bio and 68.68 percent had failed to specify their location.

The numbers don't paint a pretty picture for the micro-blogging site but you have to take into account several factors first. While a big percentage of those with no followers and those who don't follow anyone may be overlapping, meaning users that have zero followers aren't following anyone too, the numbers may also be attributed to the different ways Twitter is being used. Some use it more as a broadcast system, a way to spread their message, and those are likely to be following very few people if any. On the other hand for many Twitter provides a way to keep informed and up to date and those will be following a greater number of users but may have no followers of their own.

Based on these types of behavior Hubspot decided that an inactive Twitter account had to meet all of the following criteria: to have less than 10 followers, less than 10 tweets and follow less than 10 people. Only 9.06 percent of Twitter users qualify under these criteria, a smaller number than put forth by previous reports.