Twitter is being used by more online Americans, with 13 percent saying they are on the short-messaging blog, compared to 8 percent last November, and African-Americans "continue to be at the forefront of Twitter adoption," according to a new report.
"African Americans and Latinos continue to have high rates of adoption of the service," said the Pew Internet & American Life Project in "Twitter Update 2011." "Fully 25 percent of online African Americans use Twitter at least occasionally, with 11 percent doing so on a typical day."
The Web Use Project at Northwestern University's School of Communication, surveyed 505 "diverse young American adults" about their Internet use in 2009 and 2010, and found that:
African Americans are more likely to use (Twitter), as are those with higher Internet skills. Results also suggest that interest in celebrity and entertainment news is a significant predictor of Twitter use mediating the effect of race.
Pew conducted its survey between April 26 and May 22 among 2,277 adults (those age 18 and older). Also of note is that Twitter usage by Internet users in the 25- to 34-year-old age range has doubled since late 2010, from 9 to 19 percent, and usage by those in the 35- to 44-year-old range "has also grown significantly," from 8 to 14 percent.
Not surprisingly, many are accessing Twitter from their cellphones vs. a laptop or desktop computer. Phones are perfect for the on-the-go nature of Twitter and its 140-character limit on messages. Pew says 54 percent say they have used their phone for tweeting. And while it probably won't ever match text-messaging on phones, it's definitely a trendlet.
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- Twitter's most frequent squawkers a loud minority
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