Everyone is certainly talking about it. Most companies, news agencies, and entrepreneurs have Twitter accounts. Although I’ve been on Twitter since early 2009, most of my real-life friends and colleagues only vaguely understand what Twitter is and how it can be used.

Thus, I shouldn’t be surprised that only 8% of internet users in the the US report using Twitter, according to a recent Pew survey.

However, of those 8% of internet users who happen to use Twitter, only a third (36%) use the service regularly by checking for material posted by others on a daily basis or multiple times per day. I guess (if I lived in the US) I would be included in this rather small fraction of regular Twitter users.

On the other hand, 42% of Twitter users check the site less than every few weeks, or never.

Thus, in effect, less than 3% of US internet users are regular Twitter users (2.9%).

Despite the discouraging statistics, I’ve certainly have had no trouble finding interesting people to connect with on Twitter.

In terms of gender, 10% of women vs 7% of men use the service.

Not surprisingly, Twitter use is most common among people in the 18-29yr age group, and progressively less so in the older categories (e.g. 4% in those 65+).

Also not surprisingly, urbanites are more likely than people living in rural regions to use Twitter (11% vs 5%, respectively).

Intrestingly, there is significant racial disparity in Twitter use, with rates of 18% among Hispanics, 13% among Black non-Hispanics, and only 5% among White non-Hispanics.

Other factors, such as income and education showed less clear trends.

Peter