How Many People Really Use Twitter?

Did you ever wonder how many people are actually on Twitter? Twitter was first introduced in 2006 and since then has attracted around 18 million people. That’s roughly 3.8 % of adult Internet users. In 2008, the estimate of Twitter users was only 6 million people and since then has increased by 200 % over the 2008 statistics. Is this growth rate sustainable? What is the long-run capacity of Twitter users? These questions lead to the economic principle of supply and demand. Twitter is flooded every day with the tremendous supply of new users and their tweets. These new users demand additional capacity for tweets every day, but the capacity of infrastructure remains constant in the short term. What is the demand of capacity by Tweeters? Can Twitter use continue to grow exponentially without server problems?

Demand (Tweets) and Supply of Capacity

If the growth rate of new Twitter users continues at the same rate, there is the possibility of seeing the whale and bird image more often. More users equals more tweets and the possibility of server overload. One potential problem is lack of infrastructure.

Despite the high demand of capacity by Twitter users, the retention rate is about 40%. This means 60% of new Twitter users abandon their accounts within the first month. Even though new users are rapidly joining every day, after the first month only 40% of dedicated Twitter users will remain. The estimated Twitter growth rate may be significantly inflated. This may be good news for committed Twitter users who wish to avoid over capacity server problems.

Who Uses Twitter Anyway?

Young adults in the 18-34 age range made up roughly half of 2009 Twitter users. As our generation relies more and more on the Internet and social networks, Twitter and other social networks will continue to exponentially grow. Will there be enough capacity in the future? Nobody knows what’s in store for on-line technology, but creative and innovative minds will be needed.

The Future for Twitter

By the end of 2010, Twitter is projected to have 26 million users; equivalent to 15.5% of adult Internet users. Not currently on Twitter? Well now is the time to join.