Online content is king
New York - Internet users spend nearly half their time
online viewing news or entertainment content, surpassing
activities such as sending e-mails, shopping or searching
for information, according to a study released by the
Online Publishers Association.
The four-year study, conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings,
tracked a 37% increase in amount of time spent viewing
content such as online videos or news, surpassing a 35%
rise in using search engines like Google Inc.
The abundance of content and faster online speeds
accounted for the spike, the study said. A proliferation
of social networks such as News Corps' MySpace and
Facebook have helped boost content viewing as well.
Overall, viewing content accounts for 47% of time spent
online in 2007, up from 34% in 2003. Web search accounted
for five percent of time spent online in 2007 from three
percent in 2003.
Time spent on commerce sites such as Amazon.com fell
five percent and accounted for 15% of time spent in 2007.
Time spent on communications such as e-mail fell 28% to
33% of time spent online in 2007, down from 46% in 2003.
The popularity of instant messaging such as AOL Instant
Messenger, which lets users send quick messages rather
than e-mails, accounted for the drop in the amount of time
spent corresponding, the study said.
Posted
by:
Frank Coetzee
Demo Website Online
SA Internet News Group cc |
