In our new article on social media monitoring, we list several ways in which you can keep track of organizing efforts at your workplace using web 2.0 technologies. But is the time you would need to put into this worth the effort? Here is some data that may interest you courtesy of The Social Habit 2011 study done by Edison Research:

- Virtually all Americans are online today. A full 88 percent of Americans have Internet access. And of those online, 86 percent are using broadband compared to just 8 percent who have dial-up.

- Today, more than half of Americans 12 and older have a social networking profile on at least one site.

- Two-thirds of Facebook users are 25 or older. These age groups are also showing the strongest one-year growth on Facebook.

- Although just 8 percent have a Twitter account, 70 percent of users are engaged with the micro-blogging site compared to 47 percent just one year ago.

- One-third of those who use social networking sites access them “several times per day.”

- The most active social networkers are young and female; which also happen to be two demographics that unions are most actively courting.

- Nearly all those on social networks have a cell phone (91 percent), and 56 percent have a Smartphone. Nationally, 31 percent of Americans have a Smartphone.

As for digging that I did just on Twitter, I found accounts for the following unions: IAM, IBEW, Teamsters, SEIU, UAW, LIUNA, UFCW, TWU, Steelworkers, Mineworkers, CWA, Carpenters, Farm Workers, NNU; all in not particular order.

Do any of these happen be unions that you are worried may target your workplace?