survey

Pew Report on Reputation Systems

leelefever — Wed, 20 Oct 2004 22:20:34 -0400

Pew Internet & American Life Project: Rating systems

Twenty-six percent of adult internet users in the U.S. have rated a product, service, or person using an online rating system. That amounts to more than 33 million people. These systems, also referred to as "reputation systems" are interactive word-of-mouth networks that assist people in making decisions about which users to trust, or to compare their opinions with the opinions expressed by others. Many Web sites utilize some form of this application, including eBay, Amazon, Moviefone and Amihot.

Pew Report on Online Content Creation

leelefever — Mon, 01 Mar 2004 16:05:04 -0500

Pew Internet & American Life Project: Content Creation Online

It took me a while to figure out what "content" means in the context of a web site. Now I think of it like a glass jar of nuts and bolts- what you put into it makes up its contents. Like a glass jar, what you put into a web site makes up its content. Without content, web sites are useless.

Traditionally, there were a relatively small group of people (programmers, web masters, geeks) who could open the jar and add contents on a regular basis. What we saw online was often limited by who had the expertise to post it to the web.

This is changing very quickly- nowadays Joe and Jane internet user can add content to the web just as effectively- programming is no longer required. Weblogs are a specific example of a tool that is enabling this change.

Now that content has become so easy to add, I believe we're about to see major changes in the way we use and understand the web. The average person will become more in tune with the online world because the technical barriers are being lifted.

This report is significant to me because it sets a baseline. It allows us to get a snapshot of participation today so that we can fully understand the changes tomorrow.

Here are some stats and links:

Weblog section

In this survey, we found that a mere 2% of Internet users in this survey reported writing a weblog or online diary. Earlier surveys and a follow up check in early 2004 indicate that between 2% and 7% of Internet users publish a â€˜blog. Within this tiny group, only about 10% report updating their blog daily. Most weblog writers update their blogs once a week or less often.

From Summary:

21% of Internet users say they have posted photographs to Web sites.

20% say they have allowed others to download music or video files from their computers.

17% have posted written material on Web sites.

13% maintain their own Web sites.

10% have posted comments to an online newsgroup. A small fraction of them have posted files to a newsgroup such as video, audio, or photo files.

8% have contributed material to Web sites run by their businesses.

7% have contributed material to Web sites run by organizations to which they belong such as church or professional groups.

7% have Web cams running on their computers that allow other Internet users to see live pictures of them and their surroundings.

6% have posted artwork on Web sites.

5% have contributed audio files to Web sites.

4% have contributed material to Web sites created for their families.

3% have contributed video files to Web sites.

2% maintain Web diaries or Web blogs, according to respondents to this phone survey.

Graph of Daily Internet Activities

Graph of Overall Internet Activities

Blog Survey from MIT's Sociable Media Lab

leelefever — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 20:34:32 -0500

Go take it now

Via RSS feed: Joi

Pew Internet and American Life Report on Spam

leelefever — Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:35:37 -0400

Pew Internet & American Life Project: spam

This report on spam was just released and paints a sobering picture of how Spam is affecting the public's perception of email.

In large numbers, Internet users report that they trust email less and some even use email less because of spam. Why? Users worry that the growing volume of spam is getting in the way of their ability to reliably send and receive email. They complain that it uncontrollably clutters their inboxes and imposes uninvited, deceptive, and often disgustingly offensive messages. Here are the key figures:
25% of email users say the ever-increasing volume of spam has reduced their overall use of email; 60% of that group says spam has reduced their email use in a big way.

52% of email users say spam has made them less trusting of email in general.

70% of email users say spam has made being online unpleasant or annoying.

30% of email users are concerned that their filtering devices may block incoming email.

23% of email users are concerned that their emails to others may be blocked by filtering devices.

75% of email users are bothered that they canâ€™t stop the flow of spam.

80% of email users are bothered by deceptive or dishonest content of spam.

76% of email users are bothered by offensive or obscene content of spam.

Interesting Summary of work email accounts:

44% of work email users receive 10 or fewer emails on a typical day; 11% receive over 50.

40% of email users get no spam at all; about one in ten say at least 60% of their email on a typical day is spam.

40% of email users spend no time at all on spam; 10% spend more than one half hour a day.

34% say it is sometimes hard for them to get to the messages they want to read.

I think we are reaching a peak (or valley) in the battle with spam. I'm a believer in our ability to create smart tools that stem the tide of spam.

I think part of the battle is education. The most viable way to prevent spam is to make it an inviable business model. The survey said that 7% of users had made a purchase as a result of receiving spam. I hope that one day it will be common knowledge to not respond to or buy anything from a spammer.

Pew Internet & American Life Project: Spam

Teens Are Using the Web more than TV

leelefever — Thu, 24 Jul 2003 15:27:43 -0400

Study: Internet tops TV in battle for teens' time

I have a couple of nephews that have grown up wired. They've been using instant messaging for years and now one of them is planning to start a photo blog.

If you think online communication/social software is growing now- wait until these kids start making business decisions.

I thought this quote from a teen was key:

She doesn't have cable TV, but if she did, ''pretty soon I'd just get bored of it,'' she says. On the Internet, ''you can actually interact with it. TV, you can't really do anything but watch.''

Via: Up2Speed

Health-Related Online Community Use Is On The Rise

leelefever — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 15:25:44 -0400

The Pew Internet and American Life Project releases studies every so often that provide great insights into the ways that the Internet is affecting American life. The most recent one focuses on the ways people are accessing health information on the Internet.

This study shows that Americans are using Internet to find health information and support at generally increasing levels. Particularly interesting to me, the study shows that online communities and email support groups based on health problems represent a growing and effective resource for Americans.

Further, the study outlines that Americans are beginning to communicate with doctors via email and fill prescriptions online.

As noted above, a small but enthusiastic number of respondents praise an emerging feature the Internet offers for doctor-patient relations: email correspondence. Only 7% of respondents say they have exchanged email with their doctors, but almost all of these emailers say their electronic correspondence with their doctor has been useful to them in their health care.

Some other quotes from the survey:

Link: Email and Support Communities

Participation in health-related online groups and communities has been steadily rising. In May-June 2001, we found that 36% of Internet users had visited a Web site that provides information or support for people interested in a specific medical condition or personal situation. In September 2002, that number grew to 47% of Internet users, and by December 2002, to 54% of Internet users, or about 63 million Americans.

This usefulness and popularity of online support translates into enthusiasm and even passion from e-patients and caregivers for electronic communications. In comments, they describe the value from email and support groups in both emotional and practical terms. A number of themes emerge. On the emotional side, empathy is highly valued; giving support is as important as getting it. On the practical side, support leads to tangible results.

Link: The Internet connects users to emotional support.

A study published in the December 2002 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry found that 95% of participants in online support groups for depression said communication with other patients alleviated some depression symptoms. (15) As one e-patient confided, "Just when I think my life is horrible, I read someone else's post and they have it worse...makes me feel better."

I saw this in healthcare workers in a community I managed at Solucient, LLC. A leading benefit to the members was a feeling that "We're all in this together".

I think healthcare, which is not always on the leading edge of Internet technology, is going to see a ton of opportunities soon in terms of doctor-patient communication, internal hospital communication and cross-hospital communication. These opportunities will come from online communication platforms (web sites) that allow healthcare workers to pool knowledge and patients to support one another via online discusssions.

It's happening today, but I think the real growth is on the way. A local organization (Bellingham, WA) that's working in this direction is called Pursuing Perfection. Interestingly, this group is using a network of weblogs to manage project information and discussion. Marc Pierson keeps a weblog with good links to related articles and resources.