Project Rethink

Last week I posted a survey that asked the question, “Why do you use Twitter?”

I am going through the results now and will post them on Wednesday. I was happy to receive more than 256 responses (much more than expected).  When I post the results, I will also make the raw data available for download.

After the first survey, I had another one in mind that I wanted to do.  If you use twitter, please take a second to answer these questions. Just like last time, I will make the results and raw data available for download on this blog. The survey will be open until Thursday evening, results will be posted on Friday. Also, feel free to follow me @shawnwelch.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not affiliated with twitter or any twitter related services. I am just curious and I’m sure other people are as well.

Thanks again, and remember you can contact me at info@projectrethink.org or follow me on Twitter @shawnwelch.

Alright, we are going to try to figure out how many calories are burned per tweet.  As a disclaimer, this is just for fun.

The Data:

Average word length: 6 characters

“Numbers regarding total characters are based on an estimated average word length of five, plus a space, or six characters per word.”

Average typing speed: 60 wpm

An average typist reaches 50 to 70 wpm, while some positions can require 80 to 95 (usually the minimum required for dispatch positions and other typing jobs), and some advanced typists work at speeds above 120. 

Calories burned while typing; this one is more difficult. There are a lot of different sources on this, but the most reliable seems to be bodybuilding.com. They estimate the average person burns about 2.65* calories per minute.

*Calculations based on a male weighing 185 lbs (84kg) with a height of 6′1″ (me)

So assuming 140 character twitter post (we’re exercising here, you’ve gotta do max reps).

140 / 6 = 23.333 words per tweet
23.333 words / 60 wpm =  .389 mins per tweet (or about 23 seconds)

.389 mins per tweet * 2.650 calories per minute = 1.031 calories per tweet!


Of course calculations so complex will vary from person-to-person, but I think it is safe to assume that you burn 1 calorie per tweet. Then again, who knows how many calories are burned when tweeting from a mobile device…

Burn some extra calories and exercise by following me @shawnwelch