Just a few highly active Twitter users responsible for keeping the social web alive

Amongst the estimated 26 million monthly Twitter users online in 2010, there are very few who log on and tweet every day. Those that do are generally also highly active across the social internet.

A survey by ExactTarget, republished by eMarketer on August 9 shows that these highly active Twitter users have the loudest voices and the most influence across the web. They are the people uploading photos, writing blogs, posting ratings, writing reviews and uploading articles.

"Consumers active on Twitter are clearly the most influential online," said Morgan Stewart, principal researcher at ExactTarget's research and education group.

"What happens on Twitter doesn't stay on Twitter. While the number of active Twitter users is less than Facebook or email, the concentration of highly engaged and influential content creators is unrivaled - it's become the gathering place for content creators whose influence spills over into every other corner of the internet."

According to the study, in April 2010 active Twitter users were around three times more likely to upload photos than general internet users, four times more likely to blog, three times more likely to share ratings and reviews and almost six times more likely than their general internet user counterparts to upload articles to the web.

A second study released on August 5 by HP's Social Computing Lab analyzed 22 million tweets to find out how individual Tweeters gained influence in the microblogging world.

"To become influential, users must not only catch the attention of their followers; they must also overcome their followers' predisposition to remain passive," said Dr. Huberman, director of HP Labs' Social Computing Lab.

The study found that a user's Twitter popularity (measured by the number of followers a user had) did not directly equate to their level of influence on the microblogs. Microbloggers that were able to engage their followers with interesting and relevant posts were the most likely to influence others.

According to HP's study, some of the most influential Twitter users include @mashable, @jokoanwar, @google, @aplusk, @syfy, @smashingmag, @michellemalkin, @theonion, @rww, and @breakingnews.

Tweet Level, an online tool that measures people's Twitter influence provides a list of tips on its website that will help you improve your online influence. Tweet Level's tips include making sure at least 9 out of 10 or your tweets are "interesting, informative or interactive," and ensuring you have an updated bio and picture on your profile.

http://tweetlevel.edelman.com/tips

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007853

http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/Data-Central/What-makes-a-tweet-influential-New-HP-Labs-social-media-research/ba-p/81855