According to a recent disclosure by Twitter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), out of its 284 million users worldwide, a surprising 24 million accounts are mere digital artifacts. In the interactive arena of the Twitterverse, these faux accounts are simply apps or software pieces that constantly ping Twitter’s platform, entirely devoid of human interaction or discernable user engagement.
This astonishing revelation shines light on the fact that roughly 8.5% of Twitter’s reported “user” base is not actually comprised of actively tweeting, retweeting, or engaging users. Previously reported by Business Insider, it’s worth noting that an estimated 741 million people have opened a Twitter account only to abandon them later—significantly expanding the graveyard of digital ghost accounts. Furthermore, most Twitter users fail even to tweet once in any given month.
In light of these facts, Twitter’s stock price has started to take a hit, plunging to approximately $38 from a lofty high of $55 in October the previous year. The primary marketer of worry appears to be the lack of healthy user growth, especially when compared to its formidable competitor, Facebook.
Despite these gloomy statistics, Twitter remains optimistic. A spokesperson defended the “inactive” accounts stating, “These are real users who created Twitter accounts with real usernames and passwords, receiving Twitter content through third-party applications.” Twitter sees value in these accounts and views them as potential bridges that link the platform to external applications.
This extended perspective is central to Twitter’s ongoing endeavor to construct an ecology of users who integrate their apps onto the Twitter platform. Such a move not only widens Twitter’s digital footprint but also optimizes its utility to users. Individuals who embrace such integration and access Twitter via social media dashboards like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite are, at least theoretically, more engaged users compared to those who use the app in isolation.
Indeed, according to company data, 11.5% of all Twitter users participate through third-party apps or software. Citing an example to illustrate this claim, a Twitter spokesperson mentioned what many HTC smartphone owners would instantly recognize — ‘Blinkfeed’. This pre-installed software draws social content from various sources and aggregates it in one central location. Though the user subsequently needs to authenticate these sources, it makes for an automated feed of curated social content.
However, from this 11.5% fraction, there exists a disconcerting 24 million (or 8.5%) who, upon connecting, restrict their interactions to passive reception of information.
Twitter once predicted in 2013, the proportion of users contributing via passively pinging apps would decline over time. Contrary to their predictions, the population of people who perform “no discernable user action” on Twitter has grown instead. The graph below details their presence since Twitter first filed to go public, according to the company’s documentation submitted to the SEC.
As the new demographics of Twitter users unfold, the future relevancy of these digital ghost accounts and their impact on Twitter’s user growth metrics remain to be seen.
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