PR debates Twitter slowdown

The PR industry is debating the significance of new figures that suggest Twitter has finally reached saturation point, with the number of unique users dipping in the last three months of 2009.

According to figures from leading online metrics company Nielsen, Twitter reached its peak of popularity in September 2009, by which time its number of unique UK users had skyrocketed to 4.43 million from just 230,000 at the start of the year.

However, its number of UK users has since gradually declined, falling to 3.41 million by the end of the year.

Nielsen's figures also show much the same trend worldwide.

At the end of 2008, Twitter had a global base of around 3.91 million users. By September 2009, that had ballooned to 49.39 million worldwide. Since then global membership has fluctuated, slipping to 36.21 million in December.

But the question hot on the lips of PR commentators is whether these are tangible signs that the Twitter honeymoon has finally come to an end.

Some critics point to the rapid demise of Friends Reunited and just how quickly a social site can go out favour.

However, most analysts believe that a period of adjustment is inevitable as the number of subscribers reaches saturation point.

And that isn't a bad thing for online PR. Many users simply jumped on the Twitter bandwagon following the mass of publicity throughout 2009. And as some of those users tail away, Twitter will be left with a more committed base of users, who will be more engaged with the site than ever.