Is Twitter’s Significance to the Event Industry Overstated?

Today, social media and specifically Twitter, has become so widespread it seems to encapsulate the very pulse of human activity. In the immediate aftermath the August earthquake the number of tweets per second spiked to 5,500 (the average is 456). And yet, despite Twitter’s apparent widespread use, some research indicates that the fledgling tech startup's user base isn’t quite rock solid.

A New York Magazine article by Joe Hagan entitled “Tweet Science” discusses Twitter’s user base and economic viability. In the piece, Hagan highlights several interesting research reports. According to Nielsen, overall user retention is at 40% and despite Twitter’s claims of over 175 million users; and Business Insider estimates that there are only 50 million actual users (excluding bots and duplicate accounts). While 50 million may sound like a lot, Yahoo estimates that that 50% of all tweets come from only 20,000 users most of which are in the entertainment industry.

The user base isn’t the only potential headwind for Twitter. Twitter’s relevancy at events and conferences appears equally questionable. A study called "Getting Granular on Twitter” evaluated Twitter’s usefulness at conferences. They found only 20% of the content posted to Twitter during a conference was relevant to meeting participants. Furthermore, the “relevant” posted was so disjointed that participants could not glean the major discussion topics of the conference.

All of this data seems to question Twitter’s apparent widespread usability and engagement. Is Twitter’s significance in the overstated? What are your thoughts?