From time to time we get reports like the recent RJ Metrics report which others use to back up their case that Twitter is experiencing a gradual death. They point to the number of users and their engagement with the micro-blogging service. We’re told (correctly, mind you) that new user registration peaked in July 2009 at 7.8 million users, and it has been slipping ever since. We’re also told (correctly) that 80% of accounts are inactive. We can only conclude that in a short matter of time, Twitter will become the next MySpace, a sad shadow of itself struggling for oxygen, another Facebook victim.

Not quite.

Sure, “only” 20% of users are active, but you know what? These are power users. They’re now sending 50 million tweets per day (that’s 600 tweets per second), according to new stats released by Twitter.

Consider this: At the beginning of 2009, users were tweeting 2.5 million times per day, up from 300,000 in 2008 and 5,000 in 2007. If that’s not growth, I don’t know what is. The implications for those of us in the business of waging online campaigns are huge. The Twitter user base represents a pool of potential power engagers, just the type of people you need to build an online movement. As far as I’m concerned, we now have 50 million reasons to keep engaging in this discussion.