LONDON – More than 10 billion tweets have been posted on micro-blogging service Twitter.
This clearly indicates Twitter’s growing popularity, as it was only in November 2008 that the one billionth tweet was posted.

The web user behind the 10 billionth tweet and the content hasn’t been revealed.

The news comes as Virgin Media Business revealed that one in five tweets contains a reference to a product or a brand.
Furthermore, while 57 of the FTSE 100 companies have signed up to the micro-blogging service, 72 percent have not used their account to respond to consumers that enquire or make comments about their service.

“With so many people sharing their thoughts online, it’s no surprise that many are talking about companies. Clearly this presents an excellent opportunity for companies to engage with customers, but many are missing out,” said Phil Stewart from Virgin Media Business.

Virgin Media Business said it believed many signed-up to Twitter to stop cyber squatters getting their first.

“Creating a Twitter account and leaving it dormant or not responding to tweets by your customers is no better than opening a contact centre and not picking up the phone. In fact it is a lot worse as this lack of interaction can be viewed by millions.”