Twitter Breaks Records in Australia

By now you have heard of Twitter, a highly popular micro-blogging service. Have you set up your account yet? If not, you may soon find it a necessity to keep in line with your customers, clients and fellow businessmen.

Twitter has experienced phenomenal growth in the past year with an average growth of over 500%. According to a post by Sandra Hanchard, Senior Analyst at Hitwise Asia Pacific, Twitter achieved record usage for Australia in the week ending on January 10th.

Hanchard speculates that the high rate of Twitter usage is related to the high adoption rate of Facebook among Australian users. As of December, Facebook boasts nearly 2.5 million users in the Australian network, making it the largest social network in Australia. Since the ability to update Facebook via Twitter has become so popular, it’s no surprise that Facebook users have given many referrals for this popular service.

Both professionals and general users alike enjoy the simplicity of Twitter. With only 140 characters available, messages must be short and uncomplicated. This removes the burden of excessive editing and creative titles, practices which make traditional blogging a challenge for individuals pressed for time. This short format is also idea for SMS and mobile messaging.

This milestone is also indicative of another trend emerging in Twitter and other social networking services. Social networks are applicable for business purposes. Companies such as Telstra are finding unique ways to use this technology to their advantage. They are currently using Twitter to track service outages and to contact customers regarding support plans. BigPond has since followed in their footsteps. If Twitter can succeed at connecting individuals in casual relationships, there’s no reason it can’t provide similar benefits to business relationships as well.

No matter how you feel about Twitter, it is here to stay for the time being. Its potential is still relatively untapped. With an open programming interface to attract developers and an ever growing global user base, no one can predict how this service will evolve in the near future.

Wiliam also has a twitter profile set up with regular blog updates for those interested in joining the discussion feel free to become a follower.