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There’s been some coverage of the appearance of Twitter on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, due to both @wossy and guest @stephenfry not only being ‘celebs who Twitter’, but actualy ‘celebs who really get how Twitter works’.

Martin Belam calculated that Stephen Fry had increased his follower count by 16% between the filming on Thursday and Sunday morning.

Personally, I’d have calculated any effect from when the programme was first shown, as that’s when new followers would appear. Neville Hobson used Twittercounter to count 4000 new followers for StephenFry in the first 24 hours, but really focuses on the increase in activity and conversation from existing Twitter users about the TV mention. (Techcrunch UK also has a summary of the TV coverage)

But hang on a minute.

Even if we take the total at 10.30pm on Sunday, @stephenfry has gained 8864 from an audience of 4million+. Meanwhile 84% of his followers appeared before the mass media appearance, by finding him on Twitter and spreading the word.

So he gained 8/10 followers by conversation, word of mouth and social networking, and just 2/10ish by broadcasting on the biggest national TV station in the UK.

Does mainstream media coverage really boost followers or validate Twitter?

In between complaining about the endless reshashed guides to Twitter tips for beginners, and at exactly what point newspaper and TV coverage, celebrity usage and user figures can officially class Twitter as mainstream, there’s something that stops me in my RSS tracks.

How about an article on Twittersexuality: A Twitter Sex Guide from SFGate’s Violet Blue? It’s not as crass as you might think, and has some interesting points – for instance, listing some of the adult entertainment industry personalities on Twitter, along with sex educators and tips on flirting.

And after all, the adult industry has been involved in popularising every piece of entertainment technology of the last 100+ years – from photography, through home video and the internet.

Alternatively,  Twitter @wossy and @stephenfry have discussed Twitter during recording for the return of ‘Friday Night with Jonathan Ross‘ on BBC1 tonight at 10.35pm, if it makes it through editing.