Twitter is an opt-in medium. Customers choose to follow their favourite brands, hoping to have the inside knowledge and be the first to hear of new products and offers. They also pubicly seek advice, which is transmitted to friends and followers. While Twitter is often utilised to complain about a poor service experience, smart businesses recognise this as an opportunity for companies to publicly address an issue and come out with a positive before needing major crisis management.

At this stage of its development, it is already evident that Tweeting connects businesses directly to their core customer as long as they engage in dialogue, rather than merely broadcast in the manner of an above the line message.

Also, the data quoted for Social Media may even be “per active user” rather than per head of population – remembering that there a lot of people put there without a connection and a heap without a SM login. Maybe someone from Nielsen could clarify.

Now, Craig. “The average Australian doesn’t read newspapers”. What a clown. I just wonder how the two national newspapers (The Oz, and the AFR), the two largest newspapers in Sydney (SMH and Tele) and the two largest newpspapers in Melbourne (Herald Sun and The Age) manage to SELL just under a HALF A BILLION copies a year (OK, it’s only 486m) if the average Australian isn’t reading them – especially when we remember that every newspaper purchased is ‘passed-on’ on average to at least one other person.

Just some real-life perspective folks.

Walk into any facebook using teenagers bedroom and Facebook is used differently to most other sites. It’s the classic always on in the background app, usually with an instant messaging client also open and a couple of other sites as well. Then they go and watch TV and come back.

Would expect social gaming is driving the time spent metrics.

The Australian online audience has always been disposed towards hangingout online. Haven’t really seen any analysis that shows the reason for this behaviour – technology distribution in households, immigrant nation, bond with american popular culture etc.

The average Australian doesn’t read newspapers.

Online newspaper sites are moving into social tools to aid distribution, so they are becoming part of social media anyway.

Regarding Facebook – the actual release by Neilsen gives you info you can use for a breakdown.

“Facebook was the No. 1 global social networking destination in December 2009 and 67% of global social media users visited the site during the month. Time on site for Facebook has also been on the rise, with global users spending nearly six hours per month on the site.”

So from this, using the average, Australians spend just under 6 hours per month (in December 2009) on Facebook and about an hour on other social media sites in total (15%).

Of course, if Australians are above average users of Facebook – as they are of social media overall, according to Neilsen – this percentage of time spent on other social media sites could be lower.

This would vary by demographics – Facebook has about 7 million active Australian accounts according to their ad system, but Australia may have up to 10 million active social media users according to Neilsen.

Even with a 10% overlap between work and home (with different identities), this leaves 2 million Australians using social media other than Facebook – all the time.

stop. stop now. there are already enough people speaking in riddles.

1. They try or are pursuaded by their PR companies to participate in every element of social media when really they should look at the specific social media tools that their audiences use to gather information and just focus on those.

2. Those at the cutting edge of social media (particularly the ones who like everyone to know they’re at the cutting edge) fail to grasp that the majority of the population are still getting to grips with something these cutting edge exponents feel is dated. This creates a confusing environment for organisations who should just, again, research into how the audience they are trying to reach gather their information rather than focus on the latest breakthroughs in social media land.

After all, it’s not always about being the first to develop a marketing campaign utilising a new social media tool. It should generally be about the audience you are trying to reach and how best to appeal to them.

Social media has lifted our page ranking, has lifted our sales lead rates from overseas, has driven over a 60% increase in traffic to our blog.

I do agree with you though on the shonky software, specifically automated social media software. This is garbage, whether it works technically or not. The fact is social media works when you directly engage with people, not when you use it as a shouting or mass broadcasting medium. The automated software is just a shouting tool for lazy marketers.