The popularity of microblogging site Twitter may possibly be waning, if the site's leaked data belonging to its application programming interface (API) is authentic.
Statistics from the leaked sample data from Twitter's API reveals that the number of tweets that are posted to the social media site every day is on a steady decline - more than 50 percent in the past two years.
The information comes courtesy of publication Business Insider, which reveals that an app developer (who has tracked users of the microblogging site since 2013) shared the data with the site.
"The number of tweets per day created by Twitter's users has fallen by more than half since a peak in August 2014, according to a sampling of data from Twitter's API. (An API - application programming interface - is the portal through which other apps access Twitter so their software can function together.)," notes the publication.
The source also said that in August 2014, the number of posts to Twitter peaked - 661 million on average. This 30-day sampling period was inclusive of the World Cup Final. In January 2016, the figure dropped to a worrying 303 million during the 30-day period.
The significant drop in the number of tweets posted each day should ring alarm bells for Twitter. The disturbing trend will be a hurdle for the company as it attempts to overcome the setback and looks to alleviate the concerns of its investors.
Twitter, however, claims that "this data is not correct" and a spokesperson refrained from elaborating as the company policy does not permit comment on third-party data.
Irrespective of whether the decline in posted tweets is correct or not, it could pose an issue for the company. The API data is the statistic taken into consideration by application developers when they are collecting samples from Twitter's datasets in a bid to ascertain the activity patterns and trends of the platform's users.
If the leaked data is accurate, then it points to the fact that users are engaging in the platform sporadically. However, if inaccurate, then what app developers are deducing from the platform is misleading and not a representation of the existing trends, which will not aid developers.
Twitter itself has admitted that the growth in its "monthly active users" has pretty much stagnated and stands at 320 million. The Twitter app has several users who basically do not use the service.
With Twitter recently appointing ex-AMEX marketing whiz Leslie Berland to steer its marketing department, hopefully the company will be able to attract more users in the near term.
