The social media micro-blogging concept known as Twitter has been called everything from the next revolution of RSS and “permanent web architecture” to narcissistic and faddy. Whatever it might be, new research suggests that Twitter probably isn’t the best way to blow your PR budget (unless you’re targeting some super niche iPhone-toting geeked out audience like SXSW).

The fact of the matter is that Twitter not only trails Facebook by almost a hundred MILLION users, but its user engagement also remains abysmal. A Harvard study found that 90% all the “Tweets” out there are generated by just 10% of users… (hard to look at that number and argue that there ISN’T a case that Twitter is just a tool to sieve out narcissists)

Another recent study by a German group found that followers don’t equal influence. The research found that metrics typically associated with influence (i.e., the ability of an user to sway the opinions of followers) had almost no correlation to how popular the user was (i.e., the size of an audience) …sorry AplusK

The apparent moral of the research is that if you are a business, approach Twitter with caution and a well-defined game plan. Twitter definitely has its usefulness—namely, it’s a great way to stream hundreds of highly customized news feeds on a single platform. However, if you’re on the other end (e.g. trying to broadcast YOUR message), Twitter is such a ridiculous cacophony of noise that meaningful engagement with an audience is nearly impossible.