Due to the hugely influential role that the Fortune 500 companies play in the business world, studying their use of new technological tools like social media offers important insights into the future of commerce. In 2008, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth released one of the first studies of Fortune 500 adoption of social media. It has repeated that study every year since. This year’s research reveals that Twitter was the most widely used social media channel by Fortune 500 companies in 2009, despite growth in the use of blogs, online video, and podcasts.

This report was originally distributed by the Society for New Communications Research, which officially merged with The Conference Board in January 2016.