In Africa, Kenyans are second in using Twitter

Kenyans are the second most avid users of Twitter on the continent, new research has revealed.

“Young people tweeting from mobile devices are driving the growth of Twitter in Africa,” reads the survey that was launched in Nairobi on Thursday.

The ‘How Africa Tweets’ survey, conducted by Portland Communications and Tweetminster, placed South Africa top of the list of tweeters.

The research mapped the use of the social networking site by analysing over 11.5 million tweets on the continent over a period of three months. This was complemented by a poll of 500 of Africa’s most active tweeters.

During the period, South Africa recorded about 5 million tweets, Kenyans tweeted about 2.5 million times, Nigeria had 1.6 million tweets while Egypt and Morocco had 1.2 million tweets and 745, 620 tweets respectively.

The research revealed that African youth, aged 20 to 29, constituted the average tweeter, younger than the global average of 39 years. They were also highly connected with additional networks in Google+, LinkdIn, and Facebook.

“Twitter is helping Africa and Africans to connect in news ways and swap information and views. And for Africa — as for the rest of the world — that can only be good,” said Portland Associate Director, Ms Beatrice Karanja.

Underscoring the growth of mobile phone technology on the continent, 57 per cent of tweeters used their mobile phones with the iPhone and the Blackberry being the most popular devices.

Twitter was used mostly as a social tool. However, there are signs that the site is becoming a very important source of information. 68 per cent of respondents said they used Twitter to monitor news while 22 per cent used it to look for jobs.

However, Twitter’s potential seems to have evaded Africa’s leaders. “One of the more surprising findings of this research is that more public figures have not joined Africa’s burgeoning Twittersphere,” said Portland’s Partner for Digital Communications, Mr Mark Flanagan.

There are a few notable exceptions. Most of Kenya’s 2012 election hopefuls have made their presence known on Twitter.

President Paul Kagame has become a regular tweeter, engaging in online battles with his Western detractors while the Kenya Defense Forces have taken the battle for Somalia to the world of social networking.