UK is the fourth-largest country for Twitter users in the world, with 80% accessing it with mobile phones
Twitter now has 10 million active users in the UK and 140 million worldwide, the company revealed on Wednesday, underlining the rapid growth in the microblogging network since it launched just six years ago.
Twitter has had an increasing impact on everyday life: over the past year it has been blamed for inciting riots – a charge that was disproved – and of undermining superinjunctions involving, among others, Ryan Giggs and Jeremy Clarkson.
The network, which limits users to 140 character updates, has also changed the dynamic between celebrities and the media. It enables people with a high profile to have direct contact with the public and many have jumped at the chance – the likes of writer and actor Stephen Fry, singer Lily Allen, footballer Joey Barton and politician John Prescott now have millions of followers.
Independent studies suggest the UK has the fourth-largest number of Twitter users in the world, beaten for numbers only by the US, Brazil and Japan.
Twitter says that compared with other online content sites, its users are particularly active in generating content: 60% have either tweeted or posted a picture or other content, but on YouTube, the world's biggest video site, sources say just 1% of users ever posts a video.
However, the figure for active Tweeters suggests a high attrition rate: a study by research firm Semiocast in January claimed about 383 million Twitter profiles had been created up to the start of 2012, with about a third of those in the US. That suggests that about two-thirds of accounts had fallen quiet.
The figures, revealed for the first time by the company, say that 80% of British account owners who logged in to the site over the past month did so from a mobile phone, compared with the global average of 55%. The figure has been put down to the breadth too of mobile use in the UK.
Although most users are almost certain to log in via a desktop or laptop computer at some point, a Twitter UK spokeswoman said "we have seen growth in the number of people signing up from a mobile".
That, she said, "goes back to the DNA of Twitter" – which was originally set up in 2006 as a service that would work over SMS, which is why its messages are limited to 140 characters.
Twitter use in the UK came into sharp focus in summer 2011 when it was initially blamed for inciting riots in London and other cities.
It also saw a sharp peak in use in spring 2011 after the footballer Ryan Giggs sued the company when a number of tweets appeared alleging he had had an affair with a model – a claim which at the time was covered by a superinjunction.
The many postings led Lord Judge, the lord chief justice, to complain that tweeters were "totally out of control when it comes to privacy injunctions and court orders".
Following separate court cases, a man who threatened the Tory MP Louise Mensch and another who tweeted abuse about footballer Fabrice Muamba have been found guilty of breaking the law.
The company celebrates its first year of operating with a UK office on 1 June and it now employs 30 staff here.
It has recently been proclaiming its growing success as an advertising platform, which chief executive Dick Costolo is driving through "promoted" tweets, trends and other paid-for content, known collectively as "promoted products".
Since September last year, organisations including the British Heart Foundation and Cadbury have used Twitter to promote their services, while many others have taken advantage of the platform.
Among those was the Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, London, which tweeted on 24 February 2011 that without help, it would have to close its doors in nine months because it would be unable to repay a bank loan.
The day after posting the tweet – which was picked up and became part of the "trending tweets" for the capital – the shop sold enough books to cover its bank loan repayments for nearly two months. That was followed by broader interest around the world and te shop is now trading healthily.
Top 10 UK tweeters and their followers (drawn from worldwide audience of 140 million)
1. Stephen Fry (actor, writer) – 4.3 million
2. Jessie J (singer, judge on The Voice) – 4.2m
3. Lily Rose Cooper [formerly Allen] (singer) – 3.5m
4. Niall Horan (One Direction singer) – 3.3m
5. Liam Payne (One Direction singer) – 3.1m
6. Emma Watson (actress) – 2.8m
7. Rio Ferdinand (footballer) – 2.7m
8. Eddie Izzard (comedian, actor) – 2.4m
9. Ricky Gervais (comedian, actor) – 2.3m
10. Holly Willoughby (TV host) – 2.3m Read More
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