The Tweet Is On Among Men and Women

Male entrepreneurs are using social networking sites to compete and dominate whilst women are using them to build networks according to new research from the University of Hertfordshire.

The study analysed nearly 5,000 tweets from twelve influential entrepreneurs over one-month and found that male users sent 61 per cent more self-promotional tweets than their female counterparts.

Professor Karen Pine, University of Hertfordshire, said: “It’s been interesting to see how men are using social media as an extension of the board room or playing field where they typically have to lead the competition and dominate.

“Women use social media far less aggressively, they tend to use it more socially to build contacts and network with people, as is often the case in the ‘real world’.”

The top 5 entrepreneurs by how much they tweeted in the month of the study are below. They have an estimated combined wealth of £1.28billion

1. Michelle Mone 1,030 tweets

2. Lord Sugar 965 tweets

3. Duncan Bannatyne 660 tweets

4. Theo Paphitis 505 tweets

5. Martha Lane Fox 275 tweets

The University of Hertfordshire was awarded the Times Higher Education Entrepreneurial University of the Year Award for 2011.