Probably not. That’s the findings of Edison Research’s latest yearly report on Internet and multimedia usage in the US. The big news is the massive increase in Twitter-awareness, but tweeting participation remains low.

The report says that from 2008 to 2010 Americans who were aware of Twitter jumped from 5% to 87%. This seems about right. The micro-blogging platform has been getting some serious mainstream media attention. But they also noted that only 7% of the population actually uses it. Back in March we covered a report that noted that 79% of the profiles on Twitter were zombie-like inactive. The actual number of everyday users, we think, might be much lower than 7%.

But who are these Twitter elite? The Edison report notes that 63% have a college degree and it is used primarily for self-promotion broadcasting. Oh, really? We wrote about another report recently that states the exact opposite. In fact, it says that most of the tweeters are stay-at-home moms with degrees and less than 10% use it for self-promotion. The purpose for the majority of Twitter users, that report said, was to engage in conversation with fellow users, or, more harshly, flood the net with pointless babble.

Who’s right? Hard to tell. The Twitter population seems to be changing all the time as new users come on all the time with varied objectives. Yesterday we welcomed to Twitter El presidente himself, Hugo Chavez. To be sure, most people opt for Facebook where they have they can build very individualized pages and see what they’re friends like and don’t like. The Edison report echoes this by noting the strong and stable growth of the Facebook population. No surprise there.

This tells us two things. First, Twitter is probably always going to be a social network for the hardcore geeks, extroverts and curious. There’s little casual about your typical Twitter user. Second, if Twitter is going to make a run at Facebook on the business side, especially considering the Like vs @anywhere rivalry, they are going to need to find a way to sign people up and keep them tweeting.

The Edison report recommends two things for Twitter. First, it says they should integrate SMS texting into the Twitter service. Second, it says they should emphasize private pages and closed networks for friends.

This could work, but that would be a real stretch from the initial Twitter philosophy. Why spend money for an SMS when you can just use a Twitter app, anyhow? Furthermore, why would you want a closed Twitter network when you already have your Facebook account streaming your friends’ activities?

Editor’s note: Come here the major brands discuss their successful social media investment strategies at the Social Media Influence conference (June 22nd in London). Speakers include PepsiCo, Starbucks, Dell, Sony, Dachis Group and many others.