64% of those who are politically engaged through the internet, email, and text messaging think the internet is full of misinformation that their fellow citizens are gullible enough to believe, compared with 54% among those who are not politically engaged online, according to Pew Internet Project. At the same time, 37% of those who politically engaged online say the internet helps them feel more personally connected with the candidates or the campaign, compared with 13% of those who are politically disengaged. And 30% of those go online for political purposes say they would not be as involved in this election if it weren’t for the internet, compared with just 9% of the politically disengaged who say that.
Growth in political content sharing and creation since fall 2006
| What do users do online | Fall 2006 | Spring 2008 | ||
| Forward or post someone else’s political commentary or writing | 5% | 11% | ||
| Sign up to receive email from the candidates or campaigns | 3 | 9 | ||
| Forward or post someone else’s political audio or video recordings | 3 | 6 | ||
| Posted your own political commentary or writing to an online newsgroup, website or blog | 3 | 5 | ||
| Contributed money online to a candidate | 2 | 6 | ||
| Source: Pew Internet Project | ||||
65% of online Obama’s supporters and 56% of online McCain’s supporters get political news online
Obama and McCain supporters are equally likely to use the internet, but some 65% of online Obama’s supporters in a fall contest say they get political news and information on the internet, compared with 56% of online McCain’s supporters, according to Pew Internet Project.
35% of Americans think US will be the world science leader by 2028
70% of Americans believe the USA is not now the world leader in science achievement. 35% believe the USA will be the world science leader in the next 20 years. 79% agree that science is not receiving the attention it deserves in schools. 26% believe that they themselves have a good understanding of science. 44% couldn’t identify a single scientist, living or dead, whom they’d consider a role model for the nation’s young people, USA Today reports.
55% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats, and 56% of independents look online for news about politics or the 2008 campaigns
78% of Republicans, 74% of Democrats, and 76% of independents go online. Among internet users, 55% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats, and 56% of independents look online for news about politics or the 2008 campaigns. 49% of Republicans, 50% of Democrats, and 48% of independents use the internet, email, or text messaging to learn about the campaign and engage in the political process, according to Pew Internet Project
36% of online Democrats, 21% of Republicans and 28% of independents have a profile on a social networking site
36% of online Democrats have a profile on a social networking site, significantly greater than the comparable figures for both Republicans (21%) and independents (28%), according to Pew Internet Project. Interestingly, despite the pronounced age differences between Obama and Clinton partisans, the percentage of internet users in each group who have a social networking profile are within the margin of error for this survey (38% of online Obama supporters and 31% of online Clinton supporters have a social networking profile).
Political News Consumers, 2004 vs. 2008
| Spring 2004 | Spring 2008 | |
| Race/Ethnicity | ||
| White, non-Hispanic | 32% | 40% |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 19 | 40 |
| Hispanic | 31 | 43 |
| Age | ||
| 18-29 | 36 | 50 |
| 30-49 | 37 | 51 |
| 50-64 | 31 | 36 |
| 65+ | 11 | 15 |
| Education | ||
| Less than high school | 15 | 18 |
| High school grad | 18 | 24 |
| Some college | 39 | 49 |
| College grad | 51 | 65 |
| Household Income | ||
| Less than $30,000 | 18 | 22 |
| $30,000-$49,999 | 34 | 41 |
| $50,000-$74,999 | 44 | 51 |
| $75,000 or more | 51 | 63 |
| Source: Pew Internet Project | ||
45% of online Democrats and 34% of Republicans go online
Compared with those who would support McCain in a head-to-head matchup in the fall, wired Obama supporters are more likely to go online to watch campaign commercials (36% vs. 26%), candidate debates (29% vs. 21%), interviews (32% vs. 25%), and speeches or announcements (35% vs. 25%).45% of online Democrats have done at least one of these activities thus far in the campaign cycle, compared with 34% of Republicans. Among Democrats, Obama’s supporters are leading this charge – 57% of wired Obama supporters have sought out this type of information online, compared with 38% of online Clinton fans, according to Pew Internet Project.
27% of internet users go online once a week to do something related to Presidential campaign
27% of internet users go online once a week or more to do something related to the campaign, and 8% do so once a day or more. Among those who use email, 35% receive emails related to the campaign at least once a week or more, and 14% of email users say that they receive politics- or campaign-related emails on a daily basis. While email is being used most frequently to receive news and information, an additional 15% of email users are taking an active role by sending emails to their family or friends once a week or more, urging them to support a candidate or discuss the campaigns, according to Pew Internet Project.
18% of Obama supporters likely to sign an online petition
Among those who go online, Obama supporters are more likely to sign an online petition (18% have done so, compared with 11% of McCain supporters), sign up to receive emails from the candidates or campaigns (17% vs. 8%), contribute money online (13% vs. 5%), to post their own political commentary or writing (8% vs. 4%), and volunteer online for activities related to the campaign (5% vs. 2%). While Clinton’s online advantages are not as clear cut, her supporters are more likely than McCain’s supporters to sign up for candidate emails (16% vs. 10%) and to sign up online for campaign-related volunteer work (5% vs. 1%), according to Pew Internet Project.
$8.5 bln lost to viruses and spyware in 2006-2007
US consumers lost almost $8.5 bln over the last two years to viruses, spyware, and phishing schemes. Consumer Reports estimates that American consumers have replaced about 2.1 mln computers over the past two years because of online threats. Consumers have 1 in 6 chance of becoming a cybervictim, down from 1 in 4 in 2007. Spyware and virus infections have also declined significantly over the past few years. Consumer Reports projects that problems they cause have resulted in damages of roughly $6.5 bln over the past two years. Consumer Reports also estimates that 3.5 mln U.S. households with broadband remain unprotected by a firewall.
35% of all adults have watched a politically related video
35% of all adults have watched a politically related video so far. Some 16% of adults have read candidates’ position papers online, and 9% have read the full text of a candidate’s speech online. 47% of online adults have watched at least one type of online political video (out of a list of five possible types of videos) in the past several months-this represents 35% of all adults, according to Pew Internet Project.
57% of Americans are into Summer Olympics
Scarborough Sports Marketing reveals that people in Denver, CO and Spokane, WA might be looking forward to the start of the games more than any other city in the country. These two cities are the top U.S. markets for Summer Olympics Fans. Sixty-seven% of adults in each of these cities have identified themselves as “very, somewhat or a little bit” interested in the Summer Olympics. Nationally, 57% of adults are Summer Olympics Fans. In Chicago, a finalist host city for the 2016 summer games, consumers are slightly more likely to be Summer Olympics Fans, with 59% of adults there saying they are fans of this sporting event.
Average US household credit card debt is $8,565
Americans carry $2.56 trln in consumer debt, up 22% since 2000 alone, according to the Federal Reserve Board. The average household’s credit card debt is $8,565, up almost 15% from 2000. ?verage US student emerges from college carrying $20,000 in educational debt. Household debt, including mortgages and credit cards, represents 19% of household assets, compared with 13% in 1980. Share of disposable income that consumers must set aside to service their debt has risen to 14.5% from 11% just 15 years ago. US savings rate, which exceeded 8% of disposable income in 1968, stood at 0.4% at the end of the first quarter of 2008, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Magazine ad revenues down 3.1% in the first half of 2008
Total magazine rate-card-reported advertising revenue for the first half of 2008 closed at $11,554,569,406, posting a -3.1% decline against the previous year, according to Publishers Information Bureau. Ad pages during Q1 2008 totaled 108,924.13, at -7.4% compared to January through June, 2007. Total PIB revenue for Q2 2008 closed at $6,297,123,700, marking a decline of -4.7% versus Q2 2007. Ad pages totaled 58,744.77, at -8.2% against Q2 2007.
60% of new house buyers consulted the internet during their search
66% of users used at least one of the listed ways to find out information on places to live, and one-third used two or more, according to Pew Internet Project. Broken out by buyers versus renters: 60% of buyers consulted the internet during their search, compared to 43% of renters who did this; 60% of buyers consulted friends, family, or co-workers, compared to 16% of renters who did this; 49% of buyers used a real estate agent, while 48% of renters did; 39% of buyers used the newspaper in their search, while 57% of renters did; 19% of buyers cited a source not mentioned, while 18% of renters did; 12% of buyers consulted the radio or TV in their search, compared to 17% of renters.
Research market shares
According to Morgan Stanley, combined TNS and GfK would have 14% of the global market research business, trailing Nielsen’s 18% but ahead of IMS in third place at 8%, and WPP, at 7%. After that, no other company has a share of more than 3%, leaving significant room for consolidation.
57% of US teens have a short attention span
| Teens | Parents | |
| Have a short attention span | 57% | 53% |
| Communicate well | 51 | 36 |
| Present ideas clearly | 45 | 34 |
| Be creative | 43 | 36 |
| Write too fast and be careless | 43 | 41 |
| Use poor spelling and grammar | 38 | 30 |
| Take short cuts and not put effort into writing |
37 | 35 |
| Write better because they can revise and edit easily |
30 | 17 |
| Source: Pew Internet Project | ||
53% of online Americans purchased music in 2007
Some 27% of internet users say they have downloaded music from the internet, according to March 2006 survey. Now 53% of respondents said they had purchased music in 2007, and 26% of respondents were directed to the module with detailed questions about music purchasing. Respondents who were directed to the music module are not representative of the general population, according to Pew Internet Project. They are more likely to be internet users 83% and to have broadband at home (59% do), which compares to 73% and 50% respectively in the general population. They are also slightly younger, with a median age among adults of 43 compared with 45 in the general adult internet population.
What people do when they start the process of looking for a place to live
| Use the internet | 49% | |
| Look through newspapers for ads and articles |
49 | |
| Ask a real estate agent for advice | 47 | |
| Ask friends, family members, or coworkers | 31 | |
| Use another source not mentioned already |
17 | |
| Use television and radio | 15 | |
| Source: Pew Internet Project | ||
Online tools used by those who search for a place to live
| Take a video tour or virtual tour of a house, apartment, or neighborhood |
54% | |
| Find information online about the quality of life in a community |
51 | |
| Search websites of real estate companies and agents |
50 | |
| Search newspaper ads online | 42 | |
| Search online ad sites such as Craig’s list |
32 | |
| Read blogs about the community | 24 | |
| Post or read messages in chat rooms, listservs, or other online forums |
19 | |
| Source: Pew Internet Project | ||
27% of cell phone buyers said online information had a major impact on their decision
Among the 39% of respondents in the cell phone module who use the internet for research on their cell phone buying decision: 27% said that online information had a major impact on their decision; 46% said it has a minor impact; 27% said it had no impact at all. When asked to focus on the importance of online versus offline sources of information in the cell phone purchase, 49% of this same set of online users said that online information was most important, with 46% saying something found offline was most important, according to the Pew Internet Project.
Business-friendliest states: Delaware, Nebraska, Maine
US Chamber of Commerce named Delaware, Nebraska, Maine, Indiana, and Utah among the top US states to incorporate businesses in. At the bottom of rankings were Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Illinois, with West Virginia being the worst US state to do business in.
Newpaper digital ad revenues to reach $150 bln by 2011
Digital platforms of newspapers are growing at a double-digit rate worldwide, as the world increasingly goes on line. Digital and mobile advertising revenues are expected to increase 12-fold from 2002 to 2011, to about $150 bln worldwide. The number of wireless device subscriptions is expected to increase threefold to 3.4 bln from 2002 to 2011, the number of homes with broadband is likely to rise 10-fold in the same period, and the mobile telephone customer base has increased from 945 mln in 2001 to 2.6 bln in 2006.
What people do when they look for a new place to live
| Moved to new city or town |
Did not move to new city or town |
|
| Use the internet | 60% | 36% |
| Look through newspapers for ads and articles |
47 | 54 |
| Ask a real estate agent for advice | 55 | 41 |
| Ask friends, family members, or coworkers | 36 | 25 |
| Use another source not mentioned already |
16 | 19 |
| Use television and radio | 21 | 10 |
| Source: Pew Internet Project | ||