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Internet Travel Monitor - Marketing & Research
May 6, 2009

Twitter Just a Blip So Far

NEW YORK, NY – Findings of the Online The Harris Poll, conducted between March 31 and April 1, 2009, show that 51% of Americans do not use Twitter or have a MySpace or Facebook account. 48% of adults have either a MySpace or Facebook page, with 16% of adults updating their page at least once a day. While the media may have found Twitter, only 5% of Americans are currently using it.

There are some substantial differences in who is and who isn't using these social networking sites, says the report:

74% of those aged 18-34 years old have a Facebook or MySpace account but this quickly drops off the older one gets. Only 24% of those 55 and older have an account
8% of 18-34 year olds use Twitter, 7% of those 35-44 use it, 4% of those aged 45-54 and just 1% of those 55 and older
Men and women use Twitter at the same levels (5% each), but women are more likely to have a Facebook or MySpace account (52% versus 45%)
Two in five people with a high school degree or less have a Facebook or MySpace account compared to 55% of those with some college and 52% of those with at least a college degree.

There has been some discussion about whether these social networking sites may, at some point, become a threat to search engines such as Yahoo! or Google. Right now, that doesn't seem to be an issue, concludes the study, as 45% of adults believe the sites are popular, but they won't pose a real threat to the domination of search sites while just one in ten say they may become a threat. 46% of Americans are not at all sure. Even among the largest users of the social networking sites, 18-34 year olds, 62% say they will not become a real threat to the search engines.

Future Of Search Sites (All Online Adults; % of Age Group)
	Age Group
Respondent Opinion	Total	18-34	35-44	45-54	55+
Facebook or MySpace will never pose any real threat to the domination of search sites such as Google or Yahoo	45%	62	46	39	28
Social network sites are becoming so dominant that they may become a real threat to search sites like Google or Yahoo	9	7	9	6	11
Not at all sure	46	31	45	55	61
Source: Harris Interactive, April 2009 Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

While the younger age groups are all about the social network sites, they haven't yet migrated to Twitter. The report concludes that if they had found it before the media had, there is a stronger possibility they would be increasing their usage, but they may already be looking for the next big thing.

Online Social Network Usage - By Age & Gender (All Online Adults; % of Age Group)
		Age Group				Gender
Network Usage	Total	18-34	35-44	45-54	55+	Male	Female
Have a Facebook or MySpace account	48%	74	47	41	24	45	52
Update Facebook or MySpace account at least once a day	16	29	17	10	3	14	18
Use Twitter (Net)	5	8	7	4	1	5	5
Follow people on Twitter	5	8	6	4	1	5	5
Use Twitter to send messages	3	4	5	1	*	3	2
None of these	51	25	50	59	76	54	47
Source: Harris Interactive, April 2009 Multiple responses allowed; indicates less than 0.5%*

Online Social Network Usage - By Education (All Online Adults; % of Group)
		Education
Network Usage	Total	HS or less	Some College	College Grad+
Have a Facebook or MySpace account	48%	40	55	52
Update Facebook or MySpace account at least once a day	16	14	18	16
Use Twitter (Net)	5	3	7	6
Follow people on Twitter	5	3	6	6
Use Twitter to send messages	3	1	4	4
None of these	51	59	43	47
Source: Harris Interactive, April 2009 Multiple responses allowed; indicates less than 0.5%*