Global Internet Use Not Yet Universal
February 28, 2010
Going online in many countries, including developed ones is far from universal according to a new report by the World Internet Project (WIP).
The report was carried out by the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, it found only half of the 10 reporting countries had more than a majority of Internet users.
Both developed and less-developed countries reported relatively low percentages of Internet users, including Mexico (32 percent), Portugal (37%), Cyprus and Colombia (45%), Czech Republic (51%), and Chile (55%).
Only three countries and regions report more than 60 percent of respondents as Internet users: Macao (61%), the United States (78%) and Sweden (80%).
"These findings reinforce that the Internet is not yet part of life for hundreds of millions of people around the globe -- even in technologically advanced countries," said Jeffrey I. Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future, which created and manages the World Internet Project.
"And we are seeing large numbers of non-users even in countries with high levels of education and employment, long histories of Internet use, and high percentages of broadband installation."
The report found notable differences between men and women and their use of online technology. In six of the WIP countries, eight percent or more men than women use the Internet (Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Italy, Macao, Mexico). The gender gap is the largest in Mexico (16% more men than women are Internet users) and Colombia (15% more men than women.
In four of the WIP countries, the gap in Internet use between men and women is four percent or less, with the Czech Republic, Portugal, Sweden, and the United States reporting only slightly higher percentages of men than women as users.
"Countries that reported an average of five or more years of Internet use found key disparities in access to online technology," said Cole.
"For example, many countries have a long way to go to increase Internet equality among men and women."
Internet Use In Hotels Up 50%
January 28, 2010
Internet use by both business and leisure guests at hotels increased more than 50 percent in 2009, according to a new report by iBAHN, an Internet service provider for 2,200 hotels globally.
Hotel guests spent 60 percent more time online and downloaded 50 percent more data, based on tracked packet and session length information. This confirms the predictions from an iBAHN- commissioned, 2009 study of business travelers conducted by Ypartnership.
Ypartnership found more than two-thirds of frequent business travelers have downloaded music onto their computers (67%) while nearly 60 percent have downloaded video. More than half have downloaded news (54%) or entertainment (52%). Downloads of video and music consume considerably higher bandwidth and data than the average email or browsing session.
"The implication of this trend for hoteliers is profound as it clearly points to the conclusion that the "free to guest" model of providing free access in all locations of the hotel at all times to all guests is economically unrealistic given guests' differing bandwidth needs," iBAHN said.
"Because costs for bandwidth continue to increase exponentially, hoteliers will continue to see higher overall expenses related to their broadband offering, without commensurate benefits in either daily rates or occupancy."
Have You Read This?
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Average Person Spends 13 Hours a Week Online
December 23, 2009
Harris Interactive has released the findings of its latest poll on Internet users. This doesn't come as much of a shock, but people are spending more time online these days.
According to the poll, adult Internet users are spending an average of 13 hours a week online." Of course, people's usage varies greatly; one in five (20%) of adult Internet users are online for only two hours or less a week while one in seven (14%) are spending 24 or more hours a week online," says Harris.
The firm presents the following as highlights from the poll:
- The age groups that spend the most time online are those aged 30-39 (18 hours) and those aged 25-29 (17 hours) and 40-49 (17 hours).
- Half (50%) of all those online bought something on the Internet in the last month. This includes 62% of those aged 30-39 and 56% of those aged 40-49.
- The number of adults online, now 184 million (80%), has not changed significantly since 2008 and 2007. This includes those online at work, at home, at school or any other locations.
- However, the number of adults who are online at home has increased to 76% this year, and 75% last year, compared to 70% in 2006, and 66% in 2005.
More findings from the poll can be found here, including more graphs, breaking them down by hours spent each week online by age, purchased online in last month by age, and PC/Internet use trends, as well as the estimated numbers of adults who are online - all by year.
Have You Read This?
> Americans Would Give Up Sex For Internet Access
> More Advertisers Turning To Internet
> Google Nabs Number Two Spot In Harris Reputation Study
Portuguese Internet Users Reached Nearly 4 Million in September
November 27, 2009
comScore released findings this week from a study of the online habits of Portuguese Internet users. Interestingly, they found that the Portuguese Internet audience grew to nearly 4 Million users in September.
Over 3.8 million people age 15 and older accessed the Internet from a home or work location in Portugal in September, viewing an average 1,843 pages and spending an average 1.9 hours online per person during the month.
"Portugal represents a dynamic and growing Internet market in Europe with users continuing to be more active and engaged online," said Mike Read, comScore managing director for Europe and Ibero America. "The average Internet user in Portugal is spending more time online engaging in different behaviors such as reading news and articles, search, conducting personal financial transactions and social networking. As these behaviors continue to take hold in the Portuguese market there will be an increasing number of opportunities to leverage the Internet for marketing and advertising purposes."
Google sites are the most popular in Portugal, according to comScore's data. Here's a look at the top 15 online properties for Portugal:
Naturally, social media plays a big role in Internet use in Portugal, but it is not Facebook that dominates there, according to comScore's numbers. Here are the top ten social networking sites:
The figures for both charts exclude traffic from public computers, such as those from Internet cafes. They also exclude access from mobile phones and PDA's. I'm willing to bet that social networks and Google sites are pretty popular among mobile users in Portugal though.
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