Yahoo! Research, the central advanced research organisation of global Internet brand Yahoo! Inc., has released a study report on Twitter usage across the world. According to the study, a mere 20,000 Twitter users steal almost half of the spotlight on Twitter, which now incorporates a billion tweets every week.
The study, titled 'Who Says What to Whom on Twitter', found that only 0.05 percent of the social network's user base attracts attention. The authors analysed 260 million tweets with URLs and found that about 50 percent of the tweets consumed were created by what they called 'elite' users who fall into four categories - media, celebrities, organisations and bloggers. 'Ordinary' users include everyone else.
Similar to findings of previous studies, the researchers for this one concluded that Twitter resembles an information-sharing hub rather than a social network. They note that top generators garner huge follower tallies but do not follow their content consumers in return.
This study claims to be different from previous studies in that it delves deeper into the production and flow of tweets. By studying the flow of information among the five categories, the latest analysis seeks to shed new light on some old questions of communications research.
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