Is Twitter dying? Heavy tweeters account for just 10% of its users despite generating 90% of all tweets, new internal documents reveal as Elon Musk is set to close $44B takeover
- An internal report obtained by Reuters reveals Twitter has experienced a mass exodus of users since the pandemic started
- ‘Heavy tweeters’ make up less than 10 percent of the site’s monthly users, but generate 90 percent of all the content and half of the company’s revenue
- The report notes the shift in interests is what is causing users to leave
- The interests include cryptocurrency and ‘not safe for work,’ rather than the typical news, entertainment and sports
Elon Musk, who is set to buy Twitter for $44 billion this week, tweeted in April asking ‘Is Twitter dying’ and new internal documents from the social media platform shows it has had an ‘absolute decline’ in users since the pandemic.
The report, obtained by Reuters, reveals ‘heavy tweeters’ make up less than 10 percent of the site’s monthly users, but generate 90 percent of all the content and half of the company’s revenue.
The mass exodus is likely due to a dramatic shift in interests, according to the report, as people are more interested in cryptocurrency and ‘not safe for work’ (NSFW) instead of celebrities and politics – topics that have been Twitter’s bread and butter.
Without these power users, Twitter could also struggle to attract new or keep existing advertisers and add more turmoil to the company that is still in limbo about its deal with Musk.
A Twitter spokesperson told Reuters that its audience has ‘continued to grow, reaching 238 million [monetizable daily active users] in Q2 2022,’ but the company has been found to falsify its monetizable daily active users, the number of users who can see ads on the site.
Elon Musk vowed this week that he will close his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter by Friday, but the billionaire also noted in April that the top accounts rarely even post on the site
An internal report from Twitter reveals it has lost a large number of users since the pandemic started and the mass exodus is likely due to a shift of interests. People are more interested in cryptocurrency and ‘not safe for work’ (NSFW) instead of celebrities and politics
Documents released during Twitter’s court battle with Musk also point to the company having far fewer users, with Musk’s side claiming that fewer than 16 million users are able to see the vast majority of ads.
And the time they are spending on the site fell 10 percent over the course of 2021, recovering only slightly in 2022.
Along with a drop in monthly users, the internal report also found a shift in interests over the past two years among Twitter’s most active English-speaking users – and the firm fears this turn advertisers off.
The report comes just days from Elon Musk’s deadline to buy Twitter for $44 billion
What may be surprising is that there has been a decline of interest in news, sports and entertainment, which have helped Twitter burnish an image as the world´s ‘digital town square,’ as Musk once called it, are also the most desirable for advertisers.
The issue with the new interests is that advertisers typically steer clear of sites with controversial topics, such as nudity, in fear of tarnishing their own brand.
Such big names like Dyson, PBS Kids and Forbes have already suspended their advertising accounts after it was found some Twitter accounts were soliciting child pornography on the site, Reuters reported in September.
Twitter is also losing a ‘devastating’ percentage of heavy users who are interested in fashion or celebrities such as the Kardashian family.
These users are likely decamping to rival platforms like Meta’s Instagram and ByteDance’s TikTok, a Twitter researcher wrote.
Musk has reportedly pledged to close his $44 billion Twitter deal by Friday, the same day he faces a court-ordered deadline to complete the acquisition.
Musk made the vow in a video conference call with bankers who are helping fund the deal, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Led by Morgan Stanley, the banks have finished putting together the final credit agreement and are in the process of signing the documentation, marking one of the last steps in providing $13 billion towards the deal.
Without these power users , Twitter could also struggle to attract new or keep existing advertisers and add more turmoil to the company that is still in limbo about its deal with Musk
Meanwhile, Twitter staffers penned an open letter this week protesting Musk’s alleged plans to lay off up to two-thirds of the company’s employees after completing the deal.
Musk plans to cut Twitter’s staff by as much as three-quarters, according to plans reported by The Washington Post.
The layoff plans coincide with previous statements from Musk that the social media company is bloated, and that its 7,500 workforce suffers from a ‘strong left-wing bias.’
Moreover, the proposal – based on leaked conversations Musk had with prospective funders of his acquisition over the past few months – would leave the company with just 2,000 employees.
In the scathing note circulated Monday, staffers called the prospective layoffs ‘reckless’ and a ‘transparent act of worker intimidation.’
An unpublished draft of the letter read: ‘Elon Musk’s plan to lay off 75% of Twitter workers will hurt Twitter’s ability to serve the public conversation.
‘A threat of this magnitude is reckless, undermines our users’ and customers’ trust in our platform, and is a transparent act of worker intimidation.’
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