The latest Harris Interactive Poll as reported via Media Post has a few interesting stats clouded in a few oddly misleading negative statements like "..51% of Americans do not use Twitter or have a MySpace or Facebook account." That means that those platforms have penetrated 49% of the US in some combination or other. That is about as hockey stick-growth as you get.
Again framed as a somewhat diminutive stat in the article, this one is huge: "While the media may have found Twitter, only 5% of Americans are currently using it."
5% of Americans are using Twitter! And those are more highly educated and potentially more influenntial in a general sense if for no other reason than traditional media's embrace of Twitter....
The Skinny:
Online Social Network Usage - By Age & Gender (All Online Adults; % of Age Group) | |||||||
Age Group |
Gender | ||||||
Network Usage |
Total |
18-34 |
35-44 |
45-54 |
55+ |
Male |
Female |
Have a Facebook or MySpace account |
48% |
74 |
47 |
41 |
24 |
45 |
52 |
Update Facebook or MySpace account at least once a day |
16 |
29 |
17 |
10 |
3 |
14 |
18 |
Use Twitter (Net) |
5 |
8 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
Follow people on Twitter |
5 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
Use Twitter to send messages |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
* |
3 |
2 |
None of these |
51 |
25 |
50 |
59 |
76 |
54 |
47' |
Source: Harris Interactive, April 2009 Multiple responses allowed; * indicates less than 0.5% |
Online Social Network Usage - By Education (All Online Adults; % of Group) | ||||
Education | ||||
Network Usage |
Total |
HS or less |
Some College |
College Grad+ |
Have a Facebook or MySpace account |
48% |
40 |
55 |
52 |
Update Facebook or MySpace account at least once a day |
16 |
14 |
18 |
16 |
Use Twitter (Net) |
5 |
3 |
7 |
6 |
Follow people on Twitter |
5 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
Use Twitter to send messages |
3 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
None of these |
51 |
59 |
43 |
47 |
Source: Harris Interactive, April 2009 Multiple responses allowed; * indicates less than 0.5% |
For additional information from Harris Interactive, please visit here.
Link to original post