/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
In no small part to celebrity exposure and media coverage, use of Twitter continues to skyrocket, growing more than 100% since March, but new research shows the microblogging website is having trouble convincing users to stick around.
Data from Nielsen Online found that Twitter has a "retention rate" of about 40%, meaning four in 10 users will continue to use the site from one month to the next.
Numbers show that throughout the year that figure was closer to 30% before the popular US talkshow host Oprah Winfrey joined Twitter last month, causing a spike in new users.
Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) joined Twitter on April 17 and has racked up 680,000 followers including Hugh Jackman who has 150,000 followers (@realhughjackman).
In comparison, Twitter's retention rate is about half the size of rival websites Facebook and MySpace during their first three years of existence.
Furthermore, when Facebook and MySpace went through their explosive growth phases, much like Twitter is now, their retention rates only went up, both sitting at nearly 70% today.
However, the study fails to convey the general acceptance of social networking into the mainstream over the past few years.
More importantly the study doesn't reveal how many users are using third-party applications to access Twitter, such as the popular Tweetdeck application, without actually signing in on Twitter.com.
David Martin, vice president of primary research at Nielsen Online, said: "Twitter has enjoyed a nice ride over the past few months, but it will not be able to sustain its meteoric rise without establishing a higher level of user loyalty."
Comments
The article says it all - "he study doesn't reveal how many users are using third-party applications to access Twitter". Everyone I know uses Twitter from their iPhone or from a desktop app. I am a heavy Twitter user and I hardly ever visit Twitter.com. The web has gone beyond the browser. It's a bit like saying that the users of iPhoto09 don't use Facebook photo albums anymore when they simply upload their pictures via the native Facebook photo uploader.
Website hits are just no longer a reliable way to gauge the popularity of an online service,
It would be good to see how they calculate retention - this is based upon texting rather than web?
Agree with Boris.
Lazy research, shouldn't even warrant a news story.
Agree with Boris and Pras. Let's not take away the fact that Twitter has had a phenomenal year so far and it looks set to continue. If retention continues to decline, will this force Twitter to do something to keep their users coming back and in doing so open up avenues to advertisers?
Agree with Boris - I'm using Tweetdeck and never visit the website.
Done a quick scan of the people/companies I'm following, and about 20% are Tweeting from the website. All others are using third party apps. ... @tommillns
I think you guys are being paid by twitter! lol
It might be lazy research but it states what many of us are already thinking, and that is that Twitter is one dimentional and is the weaker offering in the social networking arena.
It would not have the users it has without the massive plugging it has had in the press by presenters who do nothing better than to self-publicise and get as many followers as possible.
After the initial rush of enthusiasm it will of course settle down to be just another channel in life 2.0's rich spectrum of overloading choice with various 'social' channels at one end and good old talking to people f2f or over the phone at the other, each chosen for their communications appropriateness - after all a good old txt is still the only way of getting an urgent time shifted message in front of someone on an iPhone however many social apps they've crammed into it.
Unless of course Facebook finally manage to create and deliver Twitter functionality and offer it inside their walled garden, assuming of course they haven't blown their permission with insensitive over monetisation or get outed - as Vimeo were recently - over a dodgy bit of small print in the user agreement that we all ticked without reading when we signed up. Second Life anybody?
I'm with Alison and Nick here... Oh dear, why am I not surprised that Twitter is about to become "Third Life." Remember all the hoopla on that with big name brands signing up for virtual stores on Second Life? Bullshit. As was once said about Oakland... "There's no there, there." And there are certainly no ad bucks... What's next?
Cheers/George
Twitter is a useful tool among lots of other useful tools. who cares whether the metrics show upward swing, downward swing or sideways swing. if its useful to you, your daily life or your business just use it. if not, use something else. not that hard really.
Is the glass half-full or half empty? If 40% of users return after more than one month then that's not too bad. There is still a hardcore of regular users.
Rob
AdStorm Advertising Agency
Spot on Roy. Twitter's just another brick in the SEO wall. That's what I keep explaining to my clients, it won't do miracles, but it will help in the end, as long as you use it properly (i.e. don't use it to tell your followers what you're wearing today - that's for Facebook).
if there wasn't an army of self indulgent media tossers like brand, ross, allen & fry then twitter would not have this hysteria around it. its just another irrelevant thing to add onto a media email signature.
Comments
Boris Jacquin - 29/04/2009
The article says it all - "he study doesn't reveal how many users are using third-party applications to access Twitter". Everyone I know uses Twitter from their iPhone or from a desktop app. I am a heavy Twitter user and I hardly ever visit Twitter.com. The web has gone beyond the browser. It's a bit like saying that the users of iPhoto09 don't use Facebook photo albums anymore when they simply upload their pictures via the native Facebook photo uploader. Website hits are just no longer a reliable way to gauge the popularity of an online service,
joe woollen - 29/04/2009
It would be good to see how they calculate retention - this is based upon texting rather than web?
Pras Murukesvan - 29/04/2009
Agree with Boris. Lazy research, shouldn't even warrant a news story.
Andy Powell - 29/04/2009
Agree with Boris and Pras. Let's not take away the fact that Twitter has had a phenomenal year so far and it looks set to continue. If retention continues to decline, will this force Twitter to do something to keep their users coming back and in doing so open up avenues to advertisers?
Tom Millns - 29/04/2009
Agree with Boris - I'm using Tweetdeck and never visit the website. Done a quick scan of the people/companies I'm following, and about 20% are Tweeting from the website. All others are using third party apps. ... @tommillns
Alison Woolfenden - 29/04/2009
I think you guys are being paid by twitter! lol It might be lazy research but it states what many of us are already thinking, and that is that Twitter is one dimentional and is the weaker offering in the social networking arena. It would not have the users it has without the massive plugging it has had in the press by presenters who do nothing better than to self-publicise and get as many followers as possible.
Nick Corston - 29/04/2009
After the initial rush of enthusiasm it will of course settle down to be just another channel in life 2.0's rich spectrum of overloading choice with various 'social' channels at one end and good old talking to people f2f or over the phone at the other, each chosen for their communications appropriateness - after all a good old txt is still the only way of getting an urgent time shifted message in front of someone on an iPhone however many social apps they've crammed into it. Unless of course Facebook finally manage to create and deliver Twitter functionality and offer it inside their walled garden, assuming of course they haven't blown their permission with insensitive over monetisation or get outed - as Vimeo were recently - over a dodgy bit of small print in the user agreement that we all ticked without reading when we signed up. Second Life anybody?
George Parker - 29/04/2009
I'm with Alison and Nick here... Oh dear, why am I not surprised that Twitter is about to become "Third Life." Remember all the hoopla on that with big name brands signing up for virtual stores on Second Life? Bullshit. As was once said about Oakland... "There's no there, there." And there are certainly no ad bucks... What's next? Cheers/George
Roy Murphy - 30/04/2009
Twitter is a useful tool among lots of other useful tools. who cares whether the metrics show upward swing, downward swing or sideways swing. if its useful to you, your daily life or your business just use it. if not, use something else. not that hard really.
Robert Frost - 30/04/2009
Is the glass half-full or half empty? If 40% of users return after more than one month then that's not too bad. There is still a hardcore of regular users.
Rob
AdStorm Advertising Agency
Boris Jacquin - 30/04/2009
Spot on Roy. Twitter's just another brick in the SEO wall. That's what I keep explaining to my clients, it won't do miracles, but it will help in the end, as long as you use it properly (i.e. don't use it to tell your followers what you're wearing today - that's for Facebook).
David Bowie - 01/05/2009
if there wasn't an army of self indulgent media tossers like brand, ross, allen & fry then twitter would not have this hysteria around it. its just another irrelevant thing to add onto a media email signature.