According to results of recent study “How Africa Tweets”, South Africans are by far the most active tweeters of the continent (5.3 mill tweets in Q4), followed by Kenya (2,476,800) Nigeria (1,646,212), Egypt (1,214,062) and Morocco (745,620) in the top five.
Compared to the average age of Twitter users in the world, Africans stand out with a relatively young average user base – around 60% of all the users are between the age 21-29. Due to the widespread use of mobile internet in Africa, majority of tweeting (57%) originates from mobile phones. Amongst the most used devices you’ll find Blackberry, Android and iPhone.
And while most of the polled Africans (80%) are using Twitter for social conversations, 22% for job search, then for 68% Twitter is also an important source for news.
“We saw the pivotal role of Twitter in the events in North Africa last year, but it is clear that Africa’s Twitter revolution is really just beginning. Twitter is helping Africa and Africans to connect in new ways and swap information and views. And for Africa – as for the rest of the world – that can only be good”.
One of the surprising findings of the study Portland’s Mark Flanagan, brings out the fact that many African public figures are not part of Twitter discussions held. With some exceptions though, like Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Rwanda President Kagame, who are known for their high social media activity.
“With some notable exceptions, we found that business and political leaders were largely absent from the debates playing out on Twitter across the continent. As Twitter lifts off in Africa, governments, businesses, and development agencies can really no longer afford to stay out of a new space where dialogue will increasingly be taking place.”
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