GWI found Twitter’s monthly active users had increased by 40 per cent between Q2 2012 and Q1 2013, reaching 476.5 million users, and representing a growth of 714 per cent since 2009.
Facebook, however, remains the world’s largest social network, with its active users increasing by 35 per cent in the same period. Google+, meanwhile, grew by 33 per cent.
GWI director of strategy consulting Brett Peterson said Twitter’s growth was being driven by older users and mobile, with the report noting the fastest growing age demographic was 55 to 64 year olds while mobile was becoming more prevalent.
“Further evidence to support the fact that mobile is driving social can be found when we compare the active social platform usage of iOS and Android users to the average. iOS and Android users are significantly more likely to use Facebook, Twitter and Google+ compared to the average Internet user around the world,” Peterson said.
GWI estimates there is a possibility that most of Twitter users in future will have little or no interaction with Twitter’s web page and will only use it through third party apps, aggregation services, operating system integration or connected devices such as televisions.
The company also seems to be doing well as far as driving active engagement is concerned, with 59 per cent of account holders now active on a monthly basis, up from 50 per cent.
The research also found the network’s usage was becoming more commercial, with “Posting comments about brands”, “Using branded apps (with Twitter)” and “Asking friends about products” growing significantly.
