901am

New Media News Every Morning

Online video, social networking websites to drive evolution of tomorrow’s digital lifestyle

By

The evolution of Internet users’ digital media and online habits appears to be transitioning to the digital video age, according to the most recent findings from The Face of the Web, Ipsos Insight‘s annual study of Internet and Technology trends. Over the past few years, the growth of digital music behaviors – particularly downloading music files online and burning CD-Rs – introduced millions of Internet users globally to the virtues of the digital medium, blazing a path for other entertainment media to follow. At the end of 2006, it appears that online video activities seemingly have taken over the torch as the driving force in the next stage of digital media’s growth, having a profound impact on the way consumers access and view video content around the world.

ipsos.jpg

Indeed, participation in online video activities is climbing quickly in many developed markets of the world. Growth in these behaviors was most prevalent within the U.S., where today well over one-third of recent Internet users (36%) have watched a TV show or other video stream online, compared to 28% at the end of 2005, while three-quarters of these adults have done so in the past 30 days.

Originally posted on July 6, 2007 @ 9:00 pm

Social networks drive people to buy online, JC Williams Group says

By

Just a few days ago, a study done by Jupiterresearch claimed that social and community networks have little impact influencing online retail sales.

Contrary to that report, however, a recent study released by JC Williams Group shows that social networks and other online community activities actually drive more people to buy stuff over the internet. This is said to be mostly rooted to buyers getting and exchanging opinions and insights from social networks to help them with their online shopping decisions.

According to the study, online shoppers are most likely to post a product review of their purchased merchandise to the internet, as opposed to those web users who do not shop online. This could only mean that as more people share about their experiences in various networks such as Bebo, Facebook, and Flickr, more people will potentially shop online as well.

“Consumers are increasingly turning to their online community or network for advice instead of traditional mass media,” said Jim Okamura, a senior partner at JC Williams. “It is indicative of the shift to an empowered consumer and the rapid fragmentation of media channels. It definitely presents a challenge for online marketers.”

The survey, sponsored by Visa and Yahoo Canada, took place between April 19 and 27. It included 1,500 online shoppers and 500 people who don’t shop online.

Originally posted on July 6, 2007 @ 12:12 pm

Social networking now embedded in lifestyle of teens and tweens

By

22156555.jpgSocial networking is now an embedded component in the lifestyle of online teens and tweens. In a national study conducted by Grunwald Associates and commissioned by Alloy Media, 81% of online 9-17 year olds say that they have visited a social networking website within the past 3 months. 71% of online 9-17 year olds visit these sites at least weekly. In a broader context, 96% of online teens/tweens report ever having used any type of social networking technology including IM/chat, text messaging and email. With social networking’s increasing status, the white paper provides advertisers crucial insights to successfully navigate a world in which youth command increasing control and provides guidance to help brands enhance youth perception, avoid being alienated by their young “friends” and benefit from this revolutionary opportunity to redefine their relationship with these consumers and to make a positive impact on their online social experience.

Findings also proved that social networking use is approaching near parity with TV time among online 9-17 year olds. In fact, the majority of teens are spending more time with new media than traditional media and when asked where their mindshare goes while they multitask between TV and online, the proportion who say they focus mainly online exceeds those who say they focus mainly on television by more than 4 to 1.

Originally posted on July 3, 2007 @ 10:21 am

Facebook expects flood of traffic from teenagers, adults

By

comScore released the results of a study on the visitation to Facebook.com which showed the site grew to 26.6 million unique visitors in the U.S. in May 2007, marking an 89-percent increase versus the same month last year. The dramatic growth comes on the heels of Facebook.com’s decision in September 2006 to open up registration to the general public, a change from the previous policy requiring a valid email address from a university or a selected group of secondary schools and businesses.

In the months prior to allowing open registration, Facebook.com’s traffic hovered at approximately 14 million visitors per month. However, after Facebook opened its doors to the general public, visitation accelerated to reach a level of 26.6 million visitors in May 2007, up 89 percent versus the same month last year and 100 percent versus September 2006.

Facebook

[Read more…]

Originally posted on July 6, 2007 @ 9:25 am

iPhone research generates many searches

By

As the final hours of an iPhone free world count down Internet research firm comScore released data related to U.S. search activity for the last few months about Apple’s hot gadget. This data in summary shows an average of 274,000 iPhone searches per week since the beginning of the year.

The study shows that through June 24 nearly 6.9 million searches were conducted which include the term “iPhone.” The most commonly searched for related topics included iPhone price and iPhone release date. When the product was first announced in January iPhone searches hit over 1.1 million during the first week alone, settling down to a smaller range in the weeks following. After Apple did a big advertising push earlier this month search results jumped back over 1.2 million for the week ending June 24.

“The iPhone launch is likely to be one of the biggest product launches in history, and the activity we’re seeing online clearly reflects widespread consumer interest,” said James Lamberti, senior vice president of search solutions at comScore. “This study also helps underscore the significant role search plays in both online and offline retail, since many of those researching the product online will be lining up at the bricks-and-mortar retailers to purchase their new iPhones.”

comscore-iphone.jpg

Originally posted on June 29, 2007 @ 2:40 pm