And yet Twitter seems to get the most social media attention second to Facebook, right? Why?

Surprisingly it’s not because Lady Gaga tweets about her sex life, or because Coby posts pre-game comments. It’s because of what happened during the election in Iran, the earthquake in Haiti, the Tsunami in Japan, the killing of Bin Laden and, most recently, the many tornado warnings tweeted across the south. It’s because Twitter’s powerful ability to instantly deliver important information anywhere in the world is undeniable. And people are catching on. In fact, Twitter celebrated its fifth birthday on March 21 and announced that “While it took about 18 months to sign up the first 500,000 accounts, we now see close to 500,000 accounts created every day.”

How many of these new accounts will be made up of active users? Here are some recent new statistics:

1. Most new active Twitter users are 25-49, well educated, affluent, early adopters and tech savvy.

2. Most new active users engage in the environment daily, and are considered influential within their online world.

3. Most new active users follow companies and brands to learn about products and services and to offer advice, input and recommendations regarding them.

4. Most new active users (79% to be exact) are more likely to recommend brands they follow.

5. More new active users are conducting B2B business than B2C business.

Let’s focus on that last one. Why is B2B so popular in this environment? Maybe because tweets can be very targeted and relevant, creating reputations of knowledge and influence. Think of a tweet as a potentially powerful blog in 140 characters or less. Then think of how easily it can be spread (aka re-tweeted) as a recommendation. Worthwhile messages can go from one influential person’s following of 500 people to 500,000+ potential customers in a matter of minutes. Try getting those engagement numbers from a direct mail piece! And to top off Twitter’s B2B strength, remember that the more relevant the 140 characters are to a potential customer’s keyword searches, the higher the tweet post will show up in organic search results. This message content can enhance a business’ overall SEO. Not bad for a free communication tool, eh?

Twitter will most likely continue to morph into something no other social media resource can offer. It’s live search capabilities, along with its increasing credibility as something more than celebrity stalking, will no doubt add millions of new active users over the next year or so. With massive numbers of active Twitter users, you find untapped potential.

Time will tell. What do you think?

¹Stats from Hypebot

Remember the days when you had a best friend, and then maybe 5 or 6 other close friends? That circle was enough, wasn’t it? Spending quality time with them was usually very rewarding.

Now we move to the digital age. Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn and others, where popularity is based on the number of friends, connections, how many people “like” you or your business, or how many places you’re the “Mayor”. And heaven forbid if you show only a few!

Obviously it’s easier to have more friends these days. And easier to stay in touch. For one thing, you can talk to all of them at the same time via most of these social media tools. And it doesn’t matter where they are. Heck, it doesn’t even matter what language they speak because Google will translate it with one simple click.

But, what’s happening to the quality of friendships? Quantity is often forced to replace quality in the digital world unless you want everyone in your growing circle to know the finite details of your life that you might otherwise only share with a few close confidants.

Time will tell how this new world of mass-connections pays off. No one can say at this point. But we do know that society is changing because of this technology. What we need to remember along the way is that it’s a choice we make, not a mandate.

I’ve met many people lately who are unwilling to submit to their lack of social media knowledge. They have the “I don’t understand Twitter therefore it is a joke” mentality. How sad. They will be last in the unemployment line in a few years.

Oh, I’m no poster child for humility. I didn’t really get Twitter until about 9 months ago. I thought it was stupid. Now I’m busy playing catch-up. So I speak as an equally flawed human being, which is why I can attest to the fact that businesses must embrace the power of social media whether they really understand it or not.

My message of hope to you is that you are not alone – MOST PEOPLE DO NOT YET UNDERSTAND SOCIAL MEDIA. But you can no longer ignore its marketing power.

These days, with technology changing so quickly, most of us need to trust and rely on others who know more than we do about these new business tools. The sooner we find them, trust them, and let them help us, the sooner we’ll gladly have our picture taken in a Wonder Woman costume. I look forward to it.