Tweet Trends

Social networking offers lots of opportunities to share information, join a conversation, reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. Perhaps too many. With Facebook, LinkedIn, GovLoop, Twitter and more, who has time to actively participate in everything?

Barracuda Networks Inc., a security and networks solutions company, this week released its annual report detailing key Twitter trends in 2009. The findings reveal that only 21 percent of account holders are "true Twitter users," or people who have at least 10 followers, follow 10 other people and have tweeted at least 10 times.

But Twitter use is growing, albeit more slowly than in early 2009. Barracuda found a 30 percent increase in users with 10-plus followers, a 17.6 percent increase in those following 10 or more people and a slight decrease in the number of users who had never tweeted.

Many government agencies and individuals are active tweeters. GovTwit, a directory of federal, state and local Twitter accounts, as well as nonprofit and media users, currently has 2,656 entries. Of those, 541 fall in the agencies category, and 134 of those are tagged as Defense Department. According to Steve Lunceford, who maintains the database, the midpoint of the 541 agency users have between 800 and 842 followers.

Federal agencies -- both whole entities and individuals within -- use Twitter to distribute information widely and quickly. However,Twitter's explosion has its downsides. Barracuda reports that one in eight accounts is "malicious, suspicious or otherwise misused."