A report says that more Twitter users are interested in pornographic and cryptocurrency-related content while ignoring more general topics that advertisers like.
According to an internal Twitter report cited by Reuters, cryptocurrency and “not suitable for work” (NSFW) content, which includes nudity and pornography, are the most popular topics among English-speaking heavy users.
The report also said that these users are becoming less interested in news, sports, and entertainment.
Advertisers are most interested in tweets about topics of general interest. These tweets have helped Twitter build its reputation as the world’s “digital town square,” as Elon Musk once put it.
Twitter is one of the few major social media sites that allow nudity. According to an internal slide presentation seen by Reuters, the company estimates that 13% of Twitter is adult content.
The presentation didn’t go into detail about how the number worked out.
Advertisers tend to stay away from controversial or naked topics because they don’t want to hurt their brands.
Reuters reported in September that major advertisers like Dyson, PBS Kids, and Forbes had stopped advertising because of Twitter accounts that asked for child pornography.
The internal report found that Twitter is having trouble keeping its most active users, who are very important to the business, interested. This shows how hard it is for the Tesla CEO to close his $44 billion deal to buy the company by Friday.
These “heavy tweeters” make up less than 10% of all Twitter users each month, but they send 90% of all tweets and bring in 50% of the world’s revenue.
A Twitter researcher wrote in an internal document called “Where did the Tweeters Go?” that the number of heavy tweeters has been “absolutely declining” since the pandemic began.
The document said that a “heavy tweeter” is someone who uses Twitter six or seven days a week and tweets three or four times a week.
The internal documents showed that the most active English-speaking Twitter users were also getting more and more interested in cryptocurrencies, which reached an all-time high in late 2021. But people are less interested in the topic since the crypto price crash in June, and the study said that cryptocurrencies may not be a growth area in the future.
Twitter wouldn’t say how many of its tweets are in English or how much money it makes from English speakers.
But some analysts say that this group is important to Twitter’s business.
In its fourth quarter, the platform made more money from ads in the U.S. than in any other market, according to its investor letter. Most ads in the U.S. probably target English-speaking users, said Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at Insider Intelligence.
The study looked at how the number of heavy English-language tweeters who showed interest in a topic based on the accounts they followed changed over the last two years.
Reuters said that “a person familiar with the matter” said that Musk has told investors that he plans to close the $44 billion deal by Friday.
Sequoia Capital, Binance, Qatar Investment Authority, and other equity investors, among others, have received the financing commitment paperwork from Musk’s lawyers, the source said.
In the last month, the price of Twitter’s stock has gone up by more than 27% as it became clear that Musk, who has promised to make changes and loosen restrictions on content moderation on the site, would go through with the purchase at his original offer of $54.
