Twitter Awareness At 92%, But Usage Just A Fraction Of That

New research suggests that most Americans are well aware of Twitter … they’re just not using it. According to an Edison Research/Arbitron study, Twitter awareness in the U.S. among people 12 years old and older is at 92% — that’s up from 87% a year ago. But adoption is a different story; the Edison/Arbitron study […]

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New research suggests that most Americans are well aware of Twitter … they’re just not using it.

According to an Edison Research/Arbitron study, Twitter awareness in the U.S. among people 12 years old and older is at 92% — that’s up from 87% a year ago.

2011 Edison Research Twitter Awareness-thumb-450x337

But adoption is a different story; the Edison/Arbitron study estimates Twitter usage at 8% of all Americans 12 and older. That number matches the Pew research a few months ago that pegged Twitter usage at 8% of all US Internet users.

2011 Edison Research Twitter Usage-thumb-450x337

The data underscores Twitter’s challenge: how to increase regular adoption in a social world that continues to be dominated by Facebook. Twitter has made several improvements over the years in helping users find new accounts to follow and has a guide for businesses, too. CEO Dick Costolo recently spoke about the company’s desire that Twitter be “instantly useful. It needs to be simple.”


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About the author

Matt McGee
Contributor
Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.

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