In a New York Times article on Wednesday, Claire Cain Miller wrote that teenagers are uninterested in Twitter. In fact, they consider it something grownups (read "fogeys") do. Not their things. They would much rather text to their friends than deliver a message to the world at large.
Who knew? Lots of people I know have had major disdain for the Twitter crowd and I know when they talk about it that they are envisioning 14 year olds telling the world where they are at any given moment "I'm on the bus now, just crossing 42nd Street," or "Just washed my hair" and the like.
Wrong. According to Miller's research, only 11% of Twitter's users are 11 to 17 years old. The big growth of users in among--dare I say it?--folks who are middle aged. And as for social network users, growth among those from 35 to 54 grew by 60% in the past year.
So, you may ask, what are the 11 to 17 year olds doing? They are texting. And texting. And texting. They would simply rather text with close friends than tweet to the masses.
Does your company have a Twitter strategy? If so, make sure it is in line with the demographics of Twitter's user group. You may have thought you were talking to teenagers but instead have been tweeting to grownups. Horrors!
Author of I is for Intercourse: The ABC's of Conversation, Susan Bird is the visionary behind Wf360, and a sought-after speaker around the world for her views on leadership, the strategic importance of conversation, entrepreneurship, and the role of women business leaders.
Twitter is for everybody no matter the age.
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