2010 Twitter Statistics Revealed

Social media monitoring company Sysomos has released a new study on Twitter usage comparing 2009 data to 2010. The company examined over a billion tweets and discovered some pretty interesting findings. Here are the top line, most valuable insights from their study:

44% of all Twitter users joined during January to mid-August 2010

Users with 100+ friends have increased by three-fold to 21% since 2009. 98.5% of users have fewer than 500 friends.

22.5% of users accounted for about 90% of all activity. 80% users have made fewer than 500 tweets.

Significantly more users are disclosing their location, bio and web information in Twitter profiles. People who created a profile before January 2009 only accounted for 4.7% of the total population.

On the whole, more and more Twitter users are providing detailed information about themselves in their profiles. From full names, locations and website URLs, Twitter users are getting comfortable.

My favourite finding from the study? Justin Bieber is one of top two-word phrases and top name in user’s bios. That kid sure gets around.

You can ready the full Sysomos study here.

YouTube to produce it’s own video content?

The New York Times is reporting that YouTube is in talks to acquire Next New Networks, a web video production company. If the acquisition goes through, this will be YouTube’s first foray into the world of original content production – a sign that the company is getting serious about showcasing professional video content rather than just amateur videos.

The potential acquisition raises some interesting questions around whether or not YouTube will favour it’s own content in search results.

Surviving (and celebrating) the holidays social media style

If you’re addicted to checking your Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr feeds every hour on the hour like we are, you may want to check out this Holiday Survival Guide for Social Media Professionals to help you get through all those family get togethers.

Among the suggestions? Schedule time for social media breaks and make peace with the fact that it’s okay to have a “silent night” every now and again.

Also, if you’re looking for ways to make someone’s holidays a little bit brighter, Mashable has put together a guide of 75+ ways you can do good with social media this year.

Metrodome roof goes bye-bye

One of the most popular videos to go viral this week was the unfortunate collapse of the Metrodome roof in Minneapolis. Check out the roof caving in under the pressure of the snow.