The Changing Face Of Twitter


Ok. So nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults don’t know enough about the online service Twitter to have an opinion.

Despite its rapid growth, the micro-blogging sensation still appeals to only a small slice of the population – even as Facebook boasts of 250 million worldwide users.

What’s interesting, however, is how this Twitter-digerati has been changing the way it uses the service. According to a TNS and Conference Board survey, nearly a quarter of Twitter users now use it for work, and 26 percent say they log in to find news and stay updated.

Perhaps this is no surprise considering how widely Twitter was used to broadcast information from Iran during the recent presidential protests. And of course we all recall how Twitter was there when a jet went down in the Hudson River.

Still, Twitter’s business migration is an interesting confirmation of the growing role for micro blogging. The site got its start as a place to stay in touch with friends and for members to ell the world what they are doing.

Now it is finding a new, more necessary role in the office and for news distribution, as the Iran protests illustrate.

According to the survey, 22 percent of Twitter members use it for business. This is especially true among the 35 to 54 year old age group, and it is divided evenly among men and women.

Thirty-one percent of male uses say they use it to find news/

Welcome to the workplace, Twitter. Your presence will likely encourage the other 70 percent get an opinion about what you do.