Tag: social networks

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New Pew Surveys: Online Video & Web Use Among Teens

Breaking from South America debriefing to let loose on some encouraging data released in the past month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project

Lee Rainie’s latest Online Activities & Pursuits survey (d/l .pdf) spotlights increased use of video-sharing sites. Interesting to see this data as it coincides with renewed interest in online video endeavors thanks to the writers strike. Another Pew Survey released six months ago had the percentage of adults (with Internet) who watch video online at 57%. In the end, it’s not about percentages but quality minutes spent viewing online video programming both original and otherwise.

I missed the report on Teen Content Creators (d/l .pdf), released before the holidays, until I caught mention of it on David Weinberger’s blog Friday morning. But a preliminary look at the report shows positive trends in the ways in which teens are engaging in social networks and online activities. Nearly twice as many girls blog than boys, however, that ratio is reversed when it comes to posting online video. 89% of teens who post photos online (47%) say their photos occasionally get commented on.

Previous posts about Pew Internet:
* Is MySpace the Teenage Parking Lot of Today?
* Future of the Internet: Liberty + Privacy
* Pew: Nearly 50 Million Create Own Web Content

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Facebook Vulnerabilities

Noticing some weirdness today in Facebook. Earlier this morning, I was unable to login, getting an error=105.

Then I was told that I “annoyed someone,” which apparently entailed using some “poke me” application. I neither have said application, nor was I online at time of said annoyance.

And now, the top item in my Facebook “news feed” claims that 5 of my friends posted the new Eagles video, which I highly doubt. Anyone else noticing weirdness on FB lately?

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Is MySpace the Teenage Parking Lot of Today?

myspace photo by dogface from flickrGone are the days of cruising the streets with friends and rendezvousing at midnight at the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot to see what’s up.

55% of online teens use social networks and have created online profiles. Girls moreso than boys (70% of girls aged 15-17), according to the results of a Pew Internet & American Life Project poll released this week (summary | full report [.pdf]).

As today’s high school students grow up in an age where everything that pops is born and manifests online, the results of the study indicate a teenage culture where friends are made and maintained via MySpace (85%), Facebook (7%) and the like. But increased caution is being practiced (if it’s not forced by parents or the generally tasteless spam friend requests from MySpace) — nearly 60% of the 12-17-year-olds surveyed restrict the visibility of their profiles to friends only.

Also of note, no big discrepancies between teenaged social network users based on race or differences in household income. But only 17% admit to having ever used these sites for “flirting,” however that’s defined.

photo by dogseat via flickr.

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Facebook’s Zuckerberg Apologizes; Is Not lonelygirl15

mark zuckerberg, facebokThe 22-year-old proprietor of the infectiously popular Facebook, the two-year-old social networking Web site for the college set, apologized this morning, for what I — and others — felt was merely exposing the obvious.

Zuckerberg and his staffers will take part in a chat Saturday at 4 p.m. ET in a Facebook group he started last week addressing net neutrality and the upcoming election: “Free Flow of Information on the Internet.”

Nobody but the 9 million + Facebook members appear to matter, however, as the majority of the social network watching blogosphere has become wholly obsessed (as before it was only moderately obsessed) with the mystery of lonelygirl15, now playing in a USAToday (popcandy blog) and L.A. Times near you.

Thanks Staci @ PaidContent for the heads up.