Research round-up: 25th February 2010

Study reveals ages of social network users

Web monitoring service Pingdon has unveiled insights into the ages of social network users across a range of popular platforms.  A full 25% of the users on these sites are aged 35 to 44, making it the age group that dominates the social media sphere. Only 3% are aged 65 or older.

·          Bebo appeals to a much younger audience than the other sites with 44% of its users being aged 17 or less. For MySpace, this number is also large; 33%.

·          Classmates.com has the largest share of users being aged 65 or more, 8%, and 78% are 35 or older.

·          64% of Twitter’s users are aged 35 or older.

·          61% of Facebooks’ users are aged 35 or older.

In terms of which age groups are the largest for each site (out of 19 social networks covered), the results are:

·          0 – 17: Tops 4 out of 19 sites (21%)

·          18 – 24: Tops no site

·          25 – 34: Tops 1 out of 19 sites (5%)

·          35 – 44: Tops 11 out of 19 sites (58%)

·          45 – 54: Tops 3 out of 19 sites (16%)

·          55 – 64: Tops no site

·          65 or older: Tops no site

·           

In terms of age:

·          The average social network user is 37 years old.

·          LinkedIn, with its business focus, has a predictably high average user age; 44.

·          The average Twitter user is 39 years old.

·          The average Facebook user is 38 years old.

·          The average MySpace user is 31 years old.

·          Bebo has by far the youngest users, as witnessed earlier, with an average age of 28.

To read the full report, click here:

http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/02/16/study-ages-of-social-network-users/

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Super-fast broadband yet to become UK reality

Point Topic’s new report on the progress of superfast broadband (“superband” for short) in the UK shows lots of action but not a lot of results to date.  Over 30 different projects are active but as yet there are barely 3,000 new superband connections in British homes.

Projects which are already firmly scheduled are due to bring superband to the doorsteps of over 2 million homes by the end of 2010.  But this will still be far short of reaching Britain as a whole, covering only 8% of all homes.

 “Superband” is the convenient term which Point Topic favours for the variety of services which offer customers superfast broadband, with download speeds of at least 25Mbps and above, at mass-market prices.   It covers various solutions based on fibre to the street cabinet or to the home (FTTC or FTTH), also known as next-generation access or NGA.  

The figures quoted consider just the BT and “alternative network” (altnet) superband projects.  They do not include the 50 megabit service now available over Virgin Media’s cable network which will compete strongly with these NGA-type solutions.

For the moment, only a few of the altnet projects have made any connections as yet.  “We’ve identified seven which have got at least 30 homes actually connected,” explains Annelise Berendt who leads the research for Point Topic. “Between them they had about 1700 lines by the end of last year, while BT accounted for another 1300 or so.”

Some little-known names have been at forefront of bringing fibre all the way to the home, exploiting the opportunities provided by new housing developments.  They include Independent Fibre Networks (IFNL) in Corby, Swindon and Andover, IsRightHere in Liverpool and Chelsea, and Velocity1 in Wembley.  H2O Fibrecity has been using sewage pipes as one route for fibering-up Bournemouth.

In the coming year BT should far overtake these pioneers.  BT Retail, with its “BT Infinity” product, and competing ISPs, could be offering superband to as many as 1.5 million homes by September 2010.  Digital Region, the biggest of the altnets, should have wired up a good number of the 600,000 homes and businesses it will have access to in South Yorkshire by the end of 2010 as well.

Meanwhile, Virgin Media’s cable network is providing a strongly competitive solution for customers who want high speeds.  20,000 had signed up for its 50 megabit service using Docsis 3 by the end of September 2009.  With lower prices likely in the face of competition from BT Retail that number could easily pass 100,000 during 2010.

But the numbers are still very modest.  “Compare our 3,000 lines with what’s happening abroad,” suggests Tim Johnson, Chief Analyst at Point Topic. “In Sweden, for example, they’ve been working on superfast fibre for the home since 2005.  Now the Swedes have got about 1.2 million superband lines, that’s 38% of all their broadband.  Meanwhile we’re standing at less than one fiftieth of one percent in Britain.”

Britain has also made a slower start than Point Topic forecast although the shortfall could be made up quite quickly.  “Our latest forecast was for 80,000 superband lines by the end of 2010,” says Johnson.  “That looks more of a stretch now but it’s still within reach.”

http://point-topic.com/index.php

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Quarter of parents ‘never discuss social media security with children’

A new internet safety campaign ‘Click Clever, Click Safe’ has been launched. Radio, press and poster advertising will use specially created characters to highlight how risky behaviour online can have consequences for young people and will give parents practical, simple and easy to remember tips so they can help their children keep themselves safe. The campaign launch comes alongside a new survey of young people which shows that many parents still aren’t talking to their children about internet safety.

The survey, to coincide with Safer Internet Day, found that 26.8 per cent of young people say their parents never talk to them about how they’re spending their time online, out of the 73.2 per cent of young people who did talk to their parents, under half said their parents talked to them about using the internet safely. Also, from the same group, less than 43 per cent said their parents used controls to stop them accessing inappropriate content online, young people spend an average of eight hours online each week – with the majority of time spent on social networking and gaming sites and only 34 per cent of young people have met all the people they speak to online in ‘real life’.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said: "The internet is a fantastic tool for young people and can open their eyes to tremendous opportunities. But it’s important that parents and children understand the risks involved with using the internet, as with any area of life."

"In the offline world most parents feel confident to set boundaries and have discussions with their children, in the online world they often struggle to discuss safety on the internet."

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One in ten works secretly shop online

In a survey conducted by the online shopping experts at zavvi.com, it was revealed that  18 per cent of most online customers browsed during their lunch hours and 12 per cent of shoppers admitted to surfing for deals when they should be working. Another 64 per cent like to use the Web to search for the best price, while another 60 per cent love not having to lug their shopping bags around.

“Monday’s are always the busiest day for online shopping, and we hope the new Mega Monday deals will prove popular for online shoppers.”  comments Richard Chapple, Commercial Director. “In the recession, when every penny counts, We listen to what customers want to see featured and act on what they tell us.  The Hut Group’s sites will be offering customers more value and better prices on the must have products than ever before.  ”

The Hut Group, who ranked number 1 in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 of the UK’s fastest growing companies, has two thriving retail brands, The Hut.com and Zavvi.com and an ecommerce solution for major retailers including ASDA, Woolworths, Argos, Tesco and WHSmith.

The Hut.com

Zavvi.com

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Mobile revenues to rise to $19 billion globally by 2014

According to Juniper Research, revenues from Mobile Connected M2M and Embedded Devices will rise to $18.9 billion globally by 2014, with consumer and commercial telematics and in vehicle applications accounting for over a third of the total. 

Other areas which will contribute significantly to M2M revenues include Mobile Connected Buildings, driven by security needs, and Utility Metering, driven by regulatory initiatives in Europe and economic stimulus funds in the US:

 “Despite the ongoing downturn in the automotive sector in developed markets, the most promising M2M area remains the automotive industry”, says Anthony Cox, Senior Analyst at Juniper Research;   “There has been a slow-down in the adoption of telematics because new car sales have stalled, but we anticipate that by 2014 in developed markets over half of new vehicles will be sold with telematics devices using cellular connections,” he says.

Further findings from the Embedded Mobile and M2M research include:

·         Operators are starting to view the market for embedded devices and M2M as a market in its own right, rather than an add-on to existing activity

·         To effectively address the market for embedded devices and M2M, operators need to consider reappraising accounting practices and form alliances and partnerships with M2M specialists

·         There is a growing trend for SIM cards to be integrated directly into devices, rather than provisioned at a later date in the “aftermarket”

The report analyses the current state of play in the Embedded Mobile and M2M market and presents six year forecasts for key mobile M2M parameters and attributable service revenues including: the number of connected buildings, mobile connected utility meters, consumer vehicles, on-board M2M systems - mobile connected commercial vehicles, mobile telematics devices, and mobile healthcare - number of monitored individuals.

M2M Whitepaper and further details of the study ‘Embedded Mobile & M2M Strategies: Healthcare, Telematics, Metering & Connected Buildings 2009-2014’ can be freely downloaded from www.juniperresearch.com.

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Brits ‘ignore online advice when buying PC software’

The vast majority of Britons online (79 per cent) do not research software products at online review sites or blogs before making a purchase. The  new nationwide online consumer study from Softwareload.co.uk, Deutsche Telekom’s software download service, also found that one in five (18 per cent) GB consumers have lost money by not moving software when switching to a new PC. Seven per cent believe they have lost more than £100 in this way during 2009.

According to the online study, conducted by YouGov* on behalf of Softwareload, men (27 per cent) are more likely to research a software product on a blog or online review than women (16 per cent) prior to purchase. Directly downloading and installing software from the Internet is narrowly more popular (21 per cent) among the Great British public than buying physical packages (20 per cent), the study found, with younger demographics favouring software downloads more than older generations.

Other key findings from Softwareload’s survey:

·          Men prefer to buy and install software from the Web (26 per cent) compared to women (15 per cent)

·          More than half of men (51 per cent) have used a new computer in last year compared with 42 per cent of women

·          People living in London (25 per cent), the south of England (21 per cent) and Wales (23 per cent) are most likely to download and install software from the Web

·          Welsh people are the most likely to read blogs and online reviews before downloading software (28 per cent) and are second only to London in making direct downloads

·          Scots are most keen to buy software in-store (23 per cent)

Source: www.softwareload.co.uk .

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White paper: Brands must protect users and their own reputations on social networks

A new white paper from moderation and community management company, eModeration, highlights the need for brands engaged in social networks to protect both their users and their own reputations.  The paper, Moderation in Social Networks,  examines the impact of user-generated content within social networks on a brand’s reputation, and gives a clear guide to best practice on moderating that content within the ‘big four’ social networks (MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and YouTube). Moderation in Social Networks is free to download from www.emoderation.com.

The paper, written by eModeration’s CEO, Tamara Littleton, guides brands through the following issues:

·          The status quo: is content safe on social networks? This includes a brief look at some of the complex legal issues surrounding the responsibility for areas including users’ safety and defamation.

·          Who is responsible for keeping users safe? This lays out what brands should know about what the big four networks are doing to ensure safety on their sites.

·          What is the risk to a brand? This section takes brands through the potential risks and pitfalls of a social network campaign (focusing on user safety and brand reputation).

·          The rules on social networks. Each of the big four social networks has a different set of rules and processes to follow when engaging with users. This section gives a detailed breakdown of what each of the four sites does and doesn’t allow; and a guide to best practice for brands on moderating content on each.

·          Should a brand moderate a third-party site? This is the big question for many brands. This section of the paper lays out questions brands should ask themselves, such as how far it knows (and trusts) its audience; what the risk might be to a brand’s reputation of being associated with negative content; and how to protect users.

·          Can brands stop people saying negative things about them? There is a very clear difference between moderation and censorship. Brands must be prepared to take negative comments on the chin, but they don’t have to put up with abusive posts.

·          What should a brand look for when moderating content? The obvious areas are bullying, abuse or illegal content. But there are other, less obvious pitfalls such as avatar images, swear-words in user names, harassment messages, spam and off-topic posts.

Tamara Littleton, CEO of eModeration, says: “There is little or no consistency between the processes of the major social networks and this can be a minefield for brands. Marketing to consumers on social networks is a fast-growing area for brands. The aim of this guide is to arm brands with the knowledge they need to deal with user-generated content on social network pages.”

The white paper is the latest in the series of white papers from eModeration, available from its website: http://www.emoderation.com/about/publications.

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Top Mobile internet trends in South Africa

Openwave Systems has published a Winter 2010 report highlighting key mobile internet usage trends in Africa.  There are over 400 million mobile subscribers in Africa, compared with approximately 300 million in North America.  Key mobile internet trends, as well as recommendations for new revenue generating opportunities, are highlighted in the 2010 winter report and below. 

Top Categories

Social Networks

Social networks factored most prominently in the findings for the South African operator with social networks being the leading internet category, accounting for 27 percent of total hits that were generated by only five percent of subscribers. In South Africa, there are a large number of social networks that are specifically designed for feature phones. Considering that there are a low percentage of subscribers generating the social networking hits, this underlies the popularity of social networks and the potential for growth.

Operator Portal

The portal for this South African operator had a high traffic rate in terms of percentages of hits and numbers of unique visitors. Operators have the potential to generate increasing revenues by selling ad space, subscriber profiles and ad delivery channels to advertisers. Operators could benefit from promoting a social networking and search partner on its portal to drive higher volume traffic and to raise the value of its inventory.

Mobile Search

Mobile search is the third most popular destination, but it sees a greater percentage of data volume than the operator’s portal. According to Openwave Analytics, Google leads the pack by a wide margin, but another local option, abphone.com, has garnered almost a third as much data traffic as Google by focusing on a specific search area: entertainment and multimedia. This trend bodes well for global and regional search engines’ search-based ad revenue, and could help the operator forge close partnerships with the multiple search engines through on-deck partnerships.

Instant Messaging

Nearly six percent of South African subscribers use IM services. The South African market is fairly deregulated, allowing a host of local, innovative IM providers to thrive, without any significant risk to messaging revenues. Operators in Africa have an opportunity to promote these types of IM services as on-deck partners and, for a small premium, enable location and presence through operator-owned API’s.  

Top Sites

Facebook

Facebook is the most popular mobile internet site in South Africa, and the social networking giant has been successful in emerging markets in large part because the site displays easily on standard feature phones, of which there are a significant number in South Africa. In addition to this operator’s subscribers regularly visiting Facebook, they also upload pictures and videos to their sites, and use Facebook for instant messaging and notifications because of how costly it is for prepaid subscribers (90%+ of our operator’s subscriber base) to send MMS and SMS messages .

An opportunity for African operators would be to more tightly integrate SMS/MMS with Facebook to make it simpler to upload content and updates. Operators could also offer subscription services for advertisers and marketing agencies to access  anonymized, segmented customer data and help them launch viral campaigns

MXit

The South African operator’s data suggests that locally developed application, MXit, had the highest number of unique users, higher than internet giants Facebook and Google. Operators could promote MXit and other local application options as on-deck partners, or as a pre-installed application on the handset, in return for a share of the revenue, promotion of banner ads, or even content downloads. This could bolster operator revenues while ensuring that SMS revenues don’t get eroded as MXit continues to grow.

 “The ability to make accurate assessments of subscriber behavior in batch mode as well as real-time and to act upon those findings is crucial for operators to be competitive,” said John Giere, senior vice president, products and marketing, Openwave.  “Openwave Analytics is a comprehensive solution that addresses marketer’s needs by monitoring data network traffic, user behavior, emerging trends and uncovering subscriber behavior insights. We believe that insights can help improve mobile operator’s understanding of their subscribers and facilitate new revenue opportunities for mobile ecosystem players.”

Openwave Analytics

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Most journalists use social media as a source

Social media is becoming viewed as a relevant part of journalistic research, study reveals. A US survey has revealed that an overwhelming majority of reporters and editors use social media sources for researching their stories as 56% say social media is important for reporting and producing the stories they wrote. However, with 84% most journalists use information delivered via social media rather cautious as they think it is less reliable than information delivered via traditional media.

According to the research conducted by Cision and The George Washington University, for their online research all journalists are using Google, followed by 61% which are turning to Wikipedia. Among social media 89% of journalists make use of blogs while conducting their online research, while 96% turn to corporate websites. Social networking sites like Facebook or LinkedIn by comparision are only slowly keeping up as two-thirds of the journalists turn to them during their online research, while only about half of them make use of the micro-blogging site Twitter.

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Good causes set to benefit from £35m a year cashback earnings

Quidco, the UK’s leading cashback website has launched a fundraising service for charities and local community projects, which doesn’t cost the charities or their donors a penny. The website pays shoppers 100% of the commission it earns when they click through and shop at any of the 1,800 retailers listed on its site, including major outlets such as Tesco, M&S and Expedia.
Quidco is now offering its community of 750,000 members the option of giving all or part of their cashback savings to the charity or community project of their choice, so that good causes can benefit while people shop for their groceries, their summer holiday or a new outfit.  Any charity or community project can be listed on the website as a potential recipient free of charge. Causes that are already benefiting include well-known names such as RSPCA and Macmillan Cancer Support, as well as local charities, school PTAs and Scout groups.

www.quidco.com

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Web coverage ‘does not prejudice trials’

A major Ministry of Justice study has found that jurors often look at internet reports of cases they are sitting on but that pre-trial media coverage does not prejudice juries. Spurred by concerns about the effect of media coverage on juries during trials the study sought to establish "jurors’ recollections" of case reporting and their use of the internet to seek out information.

Despite finding that some jurors went against judge's directions not to look for trial information by seeking reports online, the study suggested that media coverage prior to a trial did not greatly prejudice jurors’ views. The study found that 12 per cent of jurors sitting on high profile cases admitted looking for reports online during trials, as did five per cent of respondents that had sat on standard cases.

Of the respondents that had sat in high profile cases, those lasting two weeks or more with substantial pre-trial and in-trial media coverage, some 26 per cent said they had seen some form of online report. In standard cases, those lasting less than two weeks with little media coverage, 13 per cent said they had come across reports online during a trial. The study, which was conducted by Professor Cheryl Thomas of University College London, found that the legal presumption of a "fade-factor" - a belief that the further away media reports are from a trial the less likely they are to risk prejudicing events - was apparent in the findings from jurors.