(The Root) — At any given moment, conversations on Twitter can range from the serious to the intellectual to the absurd — offering a fascinating look into the thoughts, motivations and desires of a diverse swath of people. But break up that group into a specific demographic, and things get even more interesting.
According to social media studies, 26 percent of African Americans, compared with 19 percent of Hispanics and 14 percent of whites, use Twitter. The Root decided to zero in on the social network's African-American users to identify key conversations, concerns and interests of a group that is so active on social media and important to The Root's mission.
Enter The Chatterati, our new tool that relies on algorithms and a hand-selected, exclusive database of thousands of influential Twitter users — including black entrepreneurs, academics and celebrities — to display popular news, hashtags and retweets. The Chatterati page also features The Root's favorite tweets of the day, handpicked by staff.
In conjunction with The Chatterati, we launched a new social media news blog, The Grapevine, which features a variety of stories — from the White House's new Tumblr blog to celebrity Vines to clever Twitter conversations — and is edited by humorist and blogger Tracy Clayton.
The Chatterati updates in real time, so check in frequently and sign up for our newsletter. Make sure you're part of the conversation.