Are People Really Using Twitter?

April 28, 2009 by Pablo Palatnik

It’s no secret that Twitter is probably the fastest growing social website right now, maybe right along side with Facebook. Despite this growth in users and sign-ups, don’t be fooled. While its getting A LOT of publicity from basically ALL OVER THE PLACE, many are singing up but NOT RETURNING. Unlike Facebook, if you dont have much friends on Twitter, you’re not really engaging too much unless you want to send yourself some Tweets, in that case, you should go out and find friends immediately.

AdWeek Reports, “Over 60 percent of people who sign up to use the popular (and tremendously discussed) micro-blogging platform do not return to using it the following month, according to new data released by Nielsen Online. In other words, Twitter currently has just a 40 percent retention rate, up from 30 percent in previous months — indicating an “I don’t get it factor” among new users that is reminiscent of the similarly over hyped Second Life from a few years ago.”

“…Martin sees this low retention rate a long-term problem for Twitter, citing growth patterns for previous Web sensations. According to Martin, a low retention rate limits how much a site can consistently grow its audience; by his calculation, a 40 percent retention rate results in just a 10 percent reach level. That limits how big a property can get over time, since there are a finite number of potential new users.”

Now, I believe Twitter is a great platform but wont hold-up as a stand-alone platform. If someone can buy it an incorporate it into something else where users would be more engaged, it’d have more success long-term such as Facebook did with status updates within a users profile. That’s my own personal opinion.