Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Twitterers Aren't Sticking With It

High proportion of Twitter quittersi mean 'Oprah effect' is overstated

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 29, 2009 1:57 AM CDT

(Newser) – Twitter's sign-up figures are skyrocketing but the site's reach will remain limited to less than a tenth of online consumers unless it can reduce the proportion of quitters, Neilsen exec David Martin tells AdAge. Over 60% of people who get a Twitter account soon abandon the service, according to Neilsen figures, meaning that surges in user numbers like the recent "Oprah effect" are hugely overstated.

"Twitter has really big hype—it's the hype that much bigger sites like MySpace or Facebook had when they were coming up. But it's just not going to live up to that hype in the long run, audience-wise, if it can't get retention up," said Martin. He noted the bigger sites managed to boost retention figures up from 40% to 60%, while Twitter's have not passed 40%.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Twitter's reach will never exceed more than 10% of online consumers, according to Neilsen Online's user numbers. (AP Photo/Twitter)

Oprah Winfrey is seen with Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter, during a live broadcast of "Oprah Fridays Live" earlier this month in Chicago. (AP Photo/Harpo Productions, Inc., George Burns)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

If people continue to stay engaged and are compelled to stay on the site, there's no reason that engagement shouldn't go up. But it's yet to be seen. - David Martin, vice-president for primary research at Neilsen Online

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Pinterest's New Member: Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO checks out the surging upstart

(NEWSER) - The new social networking darling Pinterest has been getting all kinds of attention of late, and now comes a sure sign of validation: Mark Zuckerberg has signed up with a profile of his own, reports All Facebook . It notes that Zuckerberg also has accounts on Twitter and Google Plus, but he's relatively inactive on those. If his Pinterest activity starts humming, it may be a good sign for the site. "The simple content sharing site can easily be called the hottest startup of 2012," adds Stan Schroeder at Mashable . More»

Chris Brown: Suck it, Haters, I Got a Grammy

Singer tweets, then deletes, response to controversy

(NEWSER) - Chris Brown—who really needs to learn to step away from the Twitter—lashed out at his critics in a rant on the social networking site that was predictably and quickly deleted. Brown, apparently upset with all the controversy over his Grammys appearance , tweeted a series of messages yesterday that culminated in this classiness: "HATE ALL U WANT BECUZ I GOT A GRAMMY Now! That's the ultimate FUCK OFF!" More»

Oprah Winfrey: Sorry for Begging for OWN Viewers

Tweet got talk show queen in trouble with Nielsen

(NEWSER) - We all know the Oprah Winfrey Network is struggling with ratings —but apparently the situation is so bad that Winfrey herself felt the need to tweet a request for viewers on Sunday night, as the Grammys were airing. "Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if u have a Nielsen box," she tweeted just before Oprah's Next Chapter aired. An uproar quickly ensued, with some slamming Oprah for "begging for viewers," Fox News reports. More»

YouTube Star Kate Upton Is Sports Illustrated Bikini Babe

19-year-old shot to cover following 'Dougie' video

(NEWSER) - Victoria's Secret model and YouTube starlet Kate Upton flashes a wild bikini on this week's cover as Sports Illustrated's much-awaited annual swimsuit babe. Upton, a 19-year-old Floridian, was named the top "rookie" model in last year's Swimsuit Issue by the mag. This time she poses on an Aussie beach in a red-and-brown teeny bikini that makes her feel "sexy but confident," she tells the AP . "In Florida, people walk around in their flip-flops, bikinis, and jean shorts, so I'm very comfortable in a bathing suit," says the 5-foot-11 model. She's a modern girl, who shot to fame thanks in large part to a YouTube video in which she struts her stuff, notes the New York Times. More»

Islamists Call for Execution of Young Tweeter

Hamza Kashgari, 23, tweeted that he wants to talk to Mohammed as a 'friend'

(NEWSER) - Islamists are calling for the execution of a young Saudi Arabian who tweeted last week about the Prophet Mohammed. "I have loved the rebel in you, you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me," Hamza Kashgari, 23, wrote in a tweet addressed to Mohammed. But "I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you,” he added. "I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more." His tweets triggered more than 30,000 responses in a single day, many of them from enraged Saudis calling for his death. Kashgari has since deleted his Twitter account, and apologized, but his home address was posted on YouTube and vigilantes have been hunting him at his mosque, reports the Daily Beast . More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Twitterers Aren't Sticking With It