Twitterers Thrive off the Bleeding Edge of News

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Online ad network Chitika recently broke down a sample of users from their network to see what Twitter users want. By categorizing the sites that get links from Twitter, Chitika determined that the thing that Twitterers want the most is news, with over 28% of all traffic going to news sites. Movie sites took second place with 22.56% of Twitter traffic, followed by tech and gadget sites with 13.39%. Medical sites rounded out the top 4 with 7.98%.

Genre % of Twitter traffic News 28.49% Movies 22.56% Tech 13.39% Medical 7.98% Other 27.58% Given Twitter's unique ability to bring information instantly to large numbers of people, it's not surprising that news leads the way. From being the first to publish pictures of a Turkish Airlines plane crash to the social network's breaking of US Airways Flight 1549's dramatic crash into the Hudson River earlier this year, Twitter's instantaneous and collaborative nature has made it out to be the bleeding edge of all news.

Compare Twitter's results, though, with older, more established social network Facebook, and the value and perception of Twitter's speed become more obvious. While news sites do receive a good deal of Facebook's referrals, they lag behind tech and lifestyle sites - tech sites dominate Facebook's traffic with over 33% of the network's referrals going there.

Genre % of Facebook Traffic Tech 33.22% Lifestyle 18.29% News 18.25% How-To 4.55% Other 25.69% The comparison seems to be that Twitterers want knowledge, and to be the first to hear about everything, whereas Facebook users are more interested in being the coolest, with the newest gadgets and hottest fashion.

About Chitika

Chitika, Inc., is a search-based online advertising network, leading the way in intent-based advertising and search engine insights. With over 60,000 sites and 2 billion monthly impressions, the Chitika network is the pulse of the online world. For more information, visit http://chitika.com

Additional information and graphics to accompany this story may be viewed and downloaded here:

http://chitika.com/research/2009/twitterers-want-their-news/

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Contact: Daniel Ruby Research Director, Online Insights Chitika, Inc. +866.441.7203 x966 press@chitika.com SOURCE Chitika, Inc.