Understanding the barriers to using microblogs

Amid increasing interest in microblogging, there are people who still do not use it. Yet, little is known about why this is so. In this work, we investigate the non-usage of microblogging, identifying why people do not use such services. Focus group interviews were conducted to uncover non-usage reasons, and supplemented with reviews of relevant literature, a survey of containing detailed questions was constructed and administered. Our analysis suggested that preference for other technologies/activities, privacy concerns, and time constraints were the top three reasons contributing to the non-use microblogs. Studying non-usage is important for microblogging service providers to develop strategies to address users' concerns, and for businesses to explore new marketing and information dissemination channels. The paper also discusses implications of the research as well as opportunities for future work.