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comScore releases Japan search engine rankings

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comScore released its ranking of the top search properties in Japan based on data from the comScore qSearch service. In September, 5.9 billion searches were conducted in Japan with each searcher conducting an average of 96 searches during the month. Yahoo! Sites led in search query volume with 3 billion searches, followed by Google Sites with 2.3 billion searches.

Yahoo! Sites led the search ranking in Japan with more than 3 billion searches, representing a 51 percent market share, followed by Google Sites with 2.3 billion searches (39 percent market share). Rakuten Inc. captured the third position with 120 million searches (2 percent market share) and Microsoft Sites ranked fourth with 90 million searches (1.5 percent market share).

In September, more than 340 million searchers conducted nearly 29 billion searches in the Asia-Pacific region, ranking it as the largest searcher population and search volume total of the five global regions reported by comScore. China had the largest searcher population in the region with more than 149 million searchers, and the greatest number of searches conducted (12.8 billion). Japan ranked second on both measures with more than 61 million searchers and nearly 6 billion searches. Australia exhibited the heaviest search intensity with an average of 115 searches per searcher during the month, followed by South Korea (109 searches per searcher) and Singapore (106 searches per searcher).

Originally posted on November 25, 2008 @ 1:01 am

Time spent online important for teen development

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Results from an extensive U.S. study on teens and their use of digital media show that America’s youth are developing important social and technical skills online.

“It might surprise parents to learn that it is not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online,” said Mizuko Ito, University of California, Irvine researcher and the report’s lead author. “There are myths about kids spending time online – that it is dangerous or making them lazy. But we found that spending time online is essential for young people to pick up the social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age.”

Released at the American Anthropological Association’s annual meeting, the study was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s $50-million digital media and learning initiative, which is exploring how digital media are changing how young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life.

Together with the late Peter Lyman of the University of California, Berkeley, and Michael Carter of the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education, Ito led a team of 28 researchers and collaborators at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley. Over three years, they interviewed over 800 young people and their parents, both one-on-one and in focus groups; spent over 5000 hours observing teens on sites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other networked communities; and conducted diary studies to document how, and to what end, young people engage with digital media.

The researchers identified two distinctive categories of teen engagement with digital media: friendship-driven and interest-driven. While friendship-driven participation centered on “hanging out” with existing friends, interest-driven participation involved accessing online information and communities that may not be present in the local peer group. [Read more…]

Originally posted on November 21, 2008 @ 11:35 am

What do you prefer? Cyber Monday or Black Friday?

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While 42 percent of consumers think of Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, as an online memory-jogger to kick-start their holiday shopping plans, this year many shoppers are viewing Cyber Monday as a day to look for discounts.

A survey commissioned by Shopzilla and conducted by BizRate Research revealed that 8 out of 10 shoppers will be on the look-out for discounts with 69% searching for free shipping, 53% scouring the web for one-day promotions and 32% keeping their eyes open for buy-one-get-one-free promotions. Cyber Monday has become so famous for its good deals that many consumers prefer waiting until Monday to shop online rather than heading out to the stores for the traditional Black Friday deals.

Even the browsers, not shoppers, are using Cyber Monday to strategically prowl the web for promotions and savings. Fifty-one percent say they will log on to check on deals, and 21% will comparison shop.

Cyber Monday has become synonymous with deals in the consumer’s mind because, of the 43% of consumers who said they shopped last Cyber Monday, 63% reported finding great deals. Not surprisingly, in this tough economy, they are on the hunt again.

In addition, retailers have been successful in getting the word out about their Cyber Monday promotions. Over three-fourths of consumers (76%) learn about Cyber Monday deals via the Internet, with 48% of online shoppers hearing about Cyber Monday deals from emails and 13% learning about deals from the news. There are also many Cyber Monday sites that aggregate offers such as cybermonday.com, gottadeal.com, couponmountain.com, dealtaker.com, bizrate.com and shopzilla.com. More than 78% of consumers say they find aggregator sites very helpful.

Originally posted on November 24, 2008 @ 9:12 am

MySpace tops Yahoo, Google, AOL as Internet source of movie info

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MySpace revealed the results of a recent movie exit research study conducted for them by The Nielsen Company, which said that MySpace is the most frequently cited web source of information among consumers 15-24 years onle. Forty-two percent of consumers 15-34 years old that viewed information and/or ads for the films on the web viewed those promotions on MySpace.

Nielsen compiled results of this study using an in-theatre methodology during the opening weekend of 13 major Hollywood studio and independent film releases over the past two years. Movie titles included The Omen, John Tucker Must Die, Step Up, Jackass Number 2, Employee of the Month, 300, Redline, Bratz, Sydney White, Step Up 2: The Streets, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Smart, and The Dark Knight. All films collectively grossed approximately $409 million in opening weekend box office revenue.

Originally posted on October 29, 2008 @ 5:22 pm

Youth prefers online confessional sites than traditional hotlines

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A new online study indicates that more than 50% of young people aged 13 to 24 are accessing health and wellness information on the Internet. Youth are also using confessional sites and posting anonymously on message boards to get personal advice more often than traditional support services such as phone hotlines.

The survey was a collaboration between Ypulse, ISIS, YouthNoise and Peanut Labs and was conducted nationally with 1600 young men and women. The survey was created to identify gaps and opportunities for delivering health info in order to inform businesses and organizations who advocate for young people’s health and wellness.

Of the respondents who said they use the web for information about health and wellness, they most often cited WebMD (15.1%) as their source, seconded by search engines. Seventeen percent (17%) of the group visited online confessional sites or message boards to share something personal, 87% of whom reported positive experiences.

Respondents across all ages, genders and race/ethnicities consistently identified STDs/HIV and drugs/substance abuse as their top health concerns. Issues related to the internet, such as cyber-bullying were mentioned, but with far less frequency.

Originally posted on October 23, 2008 @ 11:00 am