Over the last few months I followed the trend against multitasking and started scheduling time for Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms instead of hopping on whenever a push notification came through.
My use of Twitter dropped off. So did my level of engagement, my conversations. But it seemed as if my most active friends were also tweeting less. Was I just imagining this because I was not checking in as often? I decided to do a little digging.
Using the terrific program, TweetStats, I charted my use (graph below) and confirmed that after peaking in September, 2009, leveling off, then hitting another high in February, 2010, I’ve experienced a steady decline in the number of tweets per month. 
I’ve been using Twitter for a little over a year, so I identified seven friends who joined within the last two years and who used the medium consistently. I ran their usernames through TweetStat and they all showed a decline over the past few months. Most peaked during the July-October, 2009 months,as I did, and everyone fell off in 2010, some significantly so.
Does this small, unscientific experiment represent a blip, a trend, or simply a period of adjustment? Are you tweeting less?
Update: Here are just a few of the responses I got within hours of posting this question on Facebook, where I’ve (not surprisingly) received more feedback than on Twitter
Yes, I have been tweeting a lot less and am much more active on Facebook.
———-
I’m tweeting less, not on purpose, it’s just sort of happening. I’m starting to feel a plateau of sorts, almost like I’m getting a little bored with the medium.
———-
annoying are the…people who only RT one other person’s tweets constantly as if it’s gospel…
———-
Yes, pretty much the only reason I am tweeting at all is because it is connected to my facebook and linked in accounts.
———-
I agree about twitter, I just don’t have the time.
———-
I definitely am tweeting less.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting graph. It appears that I have been tweeting less as well. I am not sure why that is. I spend most of my time tweeting when I am commuting and have little else do to beyond reading. Perhaps the information that I have been finding on my stream is less interesting. You are also my #3 when it comes to replies.
Fred, you were one of the users I charted and whose pattern starting in late 2009 paralleled mine. There seems to be a bit more noise, or perhaps, like you said, it’s simply not as interesting.
You’re right up there in retweets and replies for me, also.
I’ve noticed that as well, I like to think that as Twitter has matured, people are getting better at the signal/noise ratio; people have figured out what kinds of tweets provide value to their friends and there’s less “sitting in starbucks” posts. I’ve noticed I probably only post around 3-6 tweets a day now, but I’ll @reply different people up to around 20 times a day.
Thanks for stopping by, Mitchell! Agree – I see more quality. Perhaps it’s also because I unfollow those that offer almost nothing of interest or value. Like you, I’ve always appreciated the conversational aspect of Twitter and continue to do so. It’ll be interesting to observe how the platform and users continue to mature and evolve.
{ 1 trackback }