Twitter is here to stay. Twitter is having a transformation in the black community. It is in pop culture and every major story happening throughout the world. What is it about this social site where people inform the public about the updates of their lives in 150 characters or less? Better yet what is about Twitter that seems to attract black users to it that incites such a interest and significance to produce articles and studies upon. My Google research of “blacks on twitter” yielded thousands of results of new articles, and blogs. This topic has been studied and written about over a dozen times, but the topic that hasn’t been discussed is Twitter’s transformation in the black community.

“Black Twitter” has been coined by dozens of news outlets and entertainment blogs. For the sheer number of trending topics that originate from black tweeters that seem to take over the micro-blogging website.  Pointed out in these voyeuristic views of Choira Sicha and Farhad Manjoo, they both raise the question, Why is Twitter so popular among black users? The Pew Research Center conducted a study in 2011 that showed 25% of Twitter users are Black compared to just 9% White users. The number has grown with the updated study showing now 28% of users are Black. The same study showed that 15% of online users were on Twitter compared to a year earlier were only 13% were on Twitter.

News Updates

Twitter can be positive as with the Trayvon Martin story, Orlando Sentinel  pointed out the story of Trayvon Martin initially exploded on Twitter. Many of the users received all of their information about the story on Twitter, links to news articles, and blogs drew more black Twitter users than ever to join the site. With the sensationalism of pointing out the number of black users and the mostly outrageous trending topics. Many articles written on this discovery fail to touch on the numerous number of black professionals and entrepreneurs using Twitter as a way to boost their profiles, reach out to customers, and incite others to engage in their social activism. Many of the public may not see how Twitter is affecting their community, but it is having a transformation in the black community.

Transformation In The Black Community

Transformation in the black community has come from engagement on important social issues, most recently the Presidential Election. With tweets reaching a record high all throughout the election process from the primaries, conventions, and the debates. Many users from different ages and backgrounds were tweeting and tweeting. Numbers don’t lie, in the Pew studies it showed the majority of all the users on Twitter are women and around the young adult age range. Many women are using Twitter to promote themselves or their cause, black and white.

What Twitter is doing within the black community is creating a social avenue readily available through mobile apps or other devices. This convenience allows for “group” discussion on a number of issues and stories not showcased on the news. Twitter is creating a conversation among users without drawn out posts like Facebook. Instead, users go back forth with one liners and re-tweets from users they follow. What Twitter does for some black users is creates a sense of togetherness with real time news updates, interactions with TV shows, and quicker conversations. Twitter is having a transformation in the black community, enabling users to etch out a corner of the internet dedicated to their culture, shows, artists, movies, music, and news. Something that isn’t new its just now the rest of world is catching up.

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• 21% of Black women use cell phone Web browsers to make purchases compared to 8 percent of other women (Essence/Time Inc, 2008)
• Black women use the Internet more than black men (PEW, 2005)
• 42 percent of black women reported spending $100 to $499 or more on cell phones compared to 26 percent of other women. (Essence/Time Inc, 2008)
• Blacks are more likely to use cell phone to send email, access internet, do banking, and access social media sites than any other ethnic group (PEW American Life Project)
• 42 percent of black women reported spending $100 to $499 or more on cell phones compared to 26 percent of other women. (Essence/Time Inc, 2008)

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