Why Is Twitter More Popular With Black People Than White People?!

New data confirms that Twitter's population is disproportionately black.

According to Edison Research's annual report on Twitter, black people represent 25% of Twitter users, roughly twice their share of the population in general.

Why is this? A few ideas:

* Black people (and Hispanics) are much more likely to access the Internet from mobile devices. Twitter is well-suited to mobile use, and its users are more engaged with the mobile Internet than the general population by a wide margin.
* More black than white celebrities are active Twitter users; Shaquille O'Neal, Oprah, 50 Cent, and P Diddy are all among the most followed accounts on Twitter. That's great publicity for Twitter, and could be helping Twitter become more mainstream among black people.
* The median age for black Americans (according to the 2000 census) is 30 years old, a full seven years younger than for white Americans. Black people therefore make up a relatively higher percentage of the population within the most relevant age groups -- Twitter is most popular amongst 25-34 year-olds.

Those are the best explanations we can come up with. Any thoughts?

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