173 Million Internet Users Watched Online Video In January

• The top video ad networks in terms of their actual reach delivered were: BrightRoll Video Network with 27.2 percent penetration of online video viewers, SpotXchange Video Ad Network with 19.8 percent, and Tremor Media Video Network with 16.6 percent.
• 135.4 million viewers watched 12.7 billion videos on YouTube.com (93.4 videos per viewer).
• The average Hulu viewer watched 23.5 videos, totaling 2.3 hours of videos per viewer.
• The duration of the average online video was 4.1 minutes.

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Experts Agree The Internet Will Make Us Smarter

The Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Internet Center at Elon University teamed up to survey 895 experts about the future of the Internet and its affect on human intelligence.

"Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and rendering of knowledge," said Janna Anderson, study co-author and director of the Imagining the Internet Center.

"There are still many people, however, who are critics of the impact of Google, Wikipedia and other online tools."

Two-thirds of those surveyed said reading and writing skills and the rendering of knowledge will be improved by 2020 due to the influence of the Internet.

Eighty percent of the experts agreed that "hot gadgets and applications that will capture the imagination of users in 2020 will often come 'out of the blue."'

The experts were fairly divided on whether anonymous online activity will exist in 2020, with nearly 40 percent predicting that anonymous Internet users will have their access sharply decreased.

"The privacy and civil liberties battles over the next decade will increasingly focus on the growing demands for identity credentials," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

"New systems for authentication will bring new problems, as more identity information will create new opportunities for criminals."

On the issue of an open Internet in the future, nearly two-thirds said the Internet will remain as its founder envisioned.

More than a third chose to agree with the statement "the Internet will mostly become a technology where intermediary institutions that control the architecture and content will be successful in gaining the right to manage information and the method by which people access it."
 

Internet Plays Vital Role For Auto Dealers

 Auto dealers say the Internet has provided them with the highest return on investment (ROI) over the last five years, according to a new survey from Autobytel.

The majority (96%) of dealers predict the Internet will play a larger role in their marketing in the next five years. Internet leads continue to play a critical role, with 93 percent of dealers reporting that new and used third-party leads are an important part of their marketing mix.

One hundred percent of deal respondents reported their Internet strategies helped them through these challenging times, with the majority (79.5%) reporting the Internet has been their highest ROI. In contrast, traditional media (TV, newspapers and radio) only ranked first for 7.5 percent, 6.5 percent, and 2.5 percent of dealers respectively.

Dealers said being able to reach customers beyond their immediate market is a key advantage of the Internet, as well as the fact it is more cost-efficient and targeted medium than traditional media like TV & radio.

Ninety-three percent of dealers have increased their Internet marketing budgets in the last five years, with more than half (56%) boosting their Internet budgets by 50 percent or more.

Third-party leads continue to provide benefit to dealers for the following reasons, according to 93% of those surveyed:

• Having control over what I spend/how many leads I’m guaranteed to get’
• ‘Because so many consumers use 3rd-party research websites I’m able to capture ready-to-buy car shoppers’
• ‘They’re cost-efficient and measurable’
• ‘They enable me to expand my reach across Web’

What Google Looks for in a Town for its Broadband Project

As previously reported, Google is planning to build and test "ultra high-speed" broadband networks in select communities around the U.S. We contacted Google to try and find out a bit more about what criteria Google is looking for to make its selections for these trial locations.

"Above all, we're interested in deploying our network efficiently and quickly, and are hoping to identify interested community partners that will work with us to achieve this goal," Minnie Ingersoll, product manager on Google's alternative access team tells WebProNews.

"To that end, we'll use our RFI [Request for Information] to identify interested communities and to assess local factors that will impact the efficiency and speed of our deployment, such as the level of community support, local resources, weather conditions, approved construction methods and local regulatory issues, says Ingersoll. "We will also take into account broadband availability and speeds that are already offered to users within a community."

"The RFI is a first step – we plan to consult with local government organizations, as well as conduct site visits and meet with local officials, before announcing our final decisions, says Ingersoll.

Google also pointed out to us that there are already a number of Facebook Groups popping up, based on communities looking to be chosen for Google's project. The very fact that Google pointed them out means they must be paying attention.





A number of organizations from the FCC to the Open Internet Coalition have weighed in on Google's plans. "Big broadband creates big opportunities," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. "This significant trial will provide an American testbed for the next generation of innovative, high-speed Internet apps, devices, and services. The FCC's National Broadband Plan will build upon such private-sector initiatives and will include recommendations for facilitating and accelerating greater investment in broadband, creating jobs and increasing America's global competitiveness."

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors said it applauds the move, and the Open Internet Coalition says Google's initiative will spur innovation not only by app developers, but will help create a new field of ISPs that will create and sell new high-speed consumer services over the project. The organization's Executive Director says  that it will "hopefully inject new life into the extinct third party ISP marketplace."

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