Kenyans top tweeters in Africa, survey reveals

Posted:Jan 26, 2012

Kenyans have been ranked second in the use of the micro-blogging site Twitter in Africa after South Africa.

This revelation may further drive up the influence of Twitter, which is increasingly being embraced by Kenyan politicians and businesses to drive message and reach target audiences.

A new research, How Africa Tweets, analysed 11.5 million geo-located tweets across the continent late last year, and placed Kenyans among the top Twitters in Africa with youth between 21 and 29 driving the information revolution.

The survey identified Prime Minister Raila Odinga among the high-profile figures who are actively using Twitter (29,000 followers). Others include media personality Jeff Koinange (59,000 followers) and Safaricom’s CEO Bob Collymore.

North African countries that used Twitter to drive their political revolutions like Tunisia and Libya also fall behind Kenya in evidence of how the site offers a huge opportunity to reach varied audience.

The study was released in Nairobi yesterday and is the first-ever attempt to comprehensively map the use of Twitter in Africa. It showed that 57 per cent of tweets are sent from mobile devices and widely used for social conversation.

"One of the more surprising findings is that more public figures have not joined the burgeoning twittersphere. With some notable exceptions, we found business and political leaders were largely absent from debates playing out on Twitter," said Mark Flanagan, Head of Portland, which conducted the research.

Shaping opinion

Twitter is becoming an important source of information in Africa with 76 per cent of those polled saying they used it to access international news, while 69 per cent used it to get the latest gossip and entertainment.

Other 68 per cent used it for national news while 55 per cent read issues on politics. Others used it for health, sports and searching for employment opportunities.

Analysts believe the site may play a significant role in campaigns for the upcoming General Election in mobilising support and shaping public opinion.

Source: Standard

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