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Yahoo Turns 15

Yahoo is celebrating its 15th birthday. Maggie Rodriguez spoke with Yahoo's Web Life editor Heather Cabot to see much the internet has changed our lives. Heather Cabot says the survey found that most people in 1995 were clueless about the Internet in 1995. Today, most people use the Internet for letter writing, find recipes and get the news. Take a look:

Posted on March 8, 2010
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Survey Finds Centenarians Use Email, Google and Online Dating

The third annual Evercare 100@100 Survey polled 100 centenarians. The poll shifts conventional stereotypes on aging by revealing that some of the oldest Americans are using the latest technologies to keep up and stay close - talking on cell phones, sending emails, "Googling" lost acquaintances, surfing Wikipedia and even online dating.

Here's some of the results from the survey that found some centenarians are web savvy.

Surveyed Centenarians are no technophobes: 19 percent say they use cell phones to keep in touch with friends and family. Other technology used to stay in touch includes: e-mail (7 percent), sending or receiving digital photos by email (4 percent), and text messaging (1 percent).

Love 2.0: As many Centenarians as Baby Boomers (3 percent) say they have dated someone they met on an online dating site. Twelve percent of Centenarians surveyed say they have used the Internet and some have "Googled" someone they have lost contact with (2 percent) or have visited someone's personal Web site (2 percent).

Use the online encyclopedia "Wikipedia" (3 percent)

Purchased a gift online (3 percent)

Used the Internet to research a health topic (2 percent)

Have visited a political Web site (2 percent)

Have made travel arrangements and plans online (1 percent)

Posted on August 11, 2008
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China Has More Web Surfers Than U.S.

China has more people surfing the Internet than the United States does according to an AP news story. China has about 30 million more web surfers than the U.S.

China's booming Internet population has surpassed the United States to become the world's biggest, with 253 million people online despite government controls on Web use, according to government data reported Friday.

The latest figure on Web use at the end of June is a 56 percent increase over the same time last year, the China Internet Network Information Center said. It said the share of the Chinese public using the Internet is still just 19.1 percent, leaving more room for rapid growth.

The United States had an estimated 223.1 million Internet users in June, according to Nielsen Online, a research firm. The Pew Internet and American Life Project puts U.S. online penetration at 71 percent.

"This is the first time the number has drastically surpassed the United States, becoming the world's No. 1," a CNNIC statement said.

China is also well known for having strict filters that block China's citizens from viewing many of the world's websites. During the recent situation in Tibet, China reportedly even blocked news websites like CNN and the BBC. U.S. organizations doing business in China - including MSN, Yahoo and Google - have been blamed for complying with China's filters in order to do business in the coutnry. You can read a couple older articles about how China filters the Internet here and here.

Posted on July 24, 2008
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80% Of U.S. Adults Go Online

Internet usage in the U.S. has become extremely common. 80% of all U.S. adults go online according to a new Harris Poll. Web users also spend an average of 11 hours each week on the Internet Reuters reports.

"We're up to almost 80 of adults who now are online, or are somehow gaining access to the Internet. That's a pretty impressive figure," said Regina Corso, director of the Harris Poll.

The results reflect a steady rise since 2000, when 57 percent of adults polled said they went online. In 2006, the number was 77 percent.

When Harris Interactive, a market research firm, first began tracking online use among adults in 1995, the group found that only nine percent of the population -- or 17.5 million -- said they went online.

The study also found that Internet usage is lower in U.S. seniors - just nine percent of online users are 65 and older while 16% of U.S. adults are 65 and older.

Posted on November 7, 2007
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People Need the Web to Feel OK

A new study has found that many adult Americans can't go very long without using the Internet. According to a Reuters article 15% said they would only feel OK without the web for a day or less. 21 percent could last a couple days and 19% said they could make it a few days. Only 1/5th of those surveys said they could go without the web for over a week and still feel OK.

A survey asked 1,011 American adults how long they would feel OK without going on the Web, to which 15 percent said a just a day or less, 21 percent said a couple of days and another 19 percent said a few days.

Only a fifth of those who took part in an online survey conducted by advertising agency JWT between Sept 7 and 11 said they could go for a week.

"People told us how anxious, isolated and bored they felt when they are forced off line," said Ann Mack, director of trend spotting at JWT, which conducted the survey to see how technology was changing people's behavior.

"They felt disconnected from the world, from their friends and family," she told Reuters.

The good news (we hope) is that the Internet isn't going anywhere so we will all be OK.

Posted on September 20, 2007
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100 Million Websites

CNN reports that Netcraft claims the Internet has passed the 100 million website milestone. Net publishing tools like blogging tools as well as small business growth have contributed to the rapid increase in websites.

There may be a reason. Netcraft, an Internet monitoring company that has tracked Web growth since 1995, says a mammoth milestone was reached during the month of October.

"There are now 100 million Web sites with domain names and content on them," said Netcraft's Rich Miller.

"Within that, there are some that are busy and updated more often, and that represents the active sites, which are at about 47 or 48 million," he said.

Bloggers, small businesses, and simplicity have combined to create the dramatic growth of sites, much of it just in the past two years.

"The bottom line is it's much easier to create a Web site nowadays, and it's much easier to make money with a Web site," said Miller.

Netcraft says the Internet reached the 50 million milestone marker in 2004.

Posted on November 3, 2006
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Surf the Web With Your Feet

Ars Technica reports that a patent has been filed for a wireless strap-on foot input device.

Unlike existing foot "mice," the wireless device is to be worn on the foot, not operated as an external device by the foot. This would allow a freer range of motion and presumably more natural use. It is intended to be strapped to the foot or shoe of the user and, using an accelerometer and magnetic sensor, a reference unit can calculate relative positioning of the foot to translate it on the user interface. Various foot movements could be programmed to mean specific actions, such as twisting the foot for a left or right click. Although this sounds like a sport only to be practiced while on the comfort of your own couch, the patent claims that the device could also be used while standing.

It sounds like it would be a complex device to master. We would prefer the virtual reality hand surfing technology from Minority Report to be developed.

Posted on October 4, 2006
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Surfing the Web With Brainwaves

Business 2.0 reports that new technology similar to technology that lets a quadriplegic man play video games could allow people to surf the Internet with their mind.

Two years ago, a quadriplegic man started playing video games using his brain as a controller. That may just sound like fun and games for the unfortunate, but really, it spells the beginning of a radical change in how we interact with computers - and business will never be the same.

Someday, keyboards and computer mice will be remembered only as medieval-style torture devices for the wrists. All work - emails, spreadsheets, and Google searches - will be performed by mind control.

If you think that's mind-blowing, try to wrap your head around the sensational research that's been done on the brain of one Matthew Nagle by scientists at Brown University and three other institutions, in collaboration with Foxborough, Mass.-based company Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems. The research was published for the first time last week in the British science journal Nature.

Nagle, a 26-year-old quadriplegic, was hooked up to a computer via an implant smaller than an aspirin that sits on top of his brain and reads electrical patterns. Using that technology, he learned how to move a cursor around a screen, play simple games, control a robotic arm, and even - couch potatoes, prepare to gasp in awe - turn his brain into a TV remote control. All while chatting amiably with the researchers. He even learned how to perform these tasks in less time than the average PC owner spends installing Microsoft Windows.

The Business 2.0 article says the Neurodevices industry is already a $3.4 billion industry. These companies continue to look for new ways to help people compensate for brain, nerve and spinal column damage. Eventually they will have a device that makes it easy to surf the Internet using your mind. It will probably come with Internet Explorer and/or a Google toolbar pre-installed.

Posted on September 8, 2006
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European Women to Overtake Men Online

European women will soon take over the lead from men for the most frequently logged-on of the sexes in Europe according to a new study. A Portalino article reports on the study from the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA).

According to a new report announced today by the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA), European women will be spending more time online than their male counterparts within the next year.

Traditionally it has been men that have embraced the internet, spending an average of 11 hours a week online in 2005 compared to women who spent around 9 hours a week. However, in the last three years the number of hours spent online by female internet users has grown by 63%, while for men it has grown 54%. If current trends continue it will be women spending the most time online in 2007.

According to the EIAA Digital Women 2006 Report, which forms part of the ongoing Mediascope Europe Study, looking into how people allocate their time across media in Europe and how consumers use the internet, the internet is now Europe�s fastest growing media amongst women. While women's use of the internet has grown 63% since 2003, the amount they watch television has grown only 12% and the amount they read magazines has actually fallen by 4.5% in the last year.

The article says young women aged 16-24 are behind the growth in women web users. The press release from the EIAA can be found here.

Posted on April 26, 2006
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Inside the Minds of Websurfers

USA Today reports on a Neilsen survey that revealed many interesting facts about the way people surf. The study also had some interesting findings:

Individuals read Web pages in an "F" pattern. They're more inclined to read longer sentences at the top of a page and less and less as they scroll down. That makes the first two words of a sentence very important. "People are extremely good at screening out things and focusing in on a small number of salient page elements," says Jakob Nielsen, a principal at the firm.
Surfers connect well with images of people looking directly at them. It helps if the person in the photo is attractive, but not too good looking. Photos of people who are clearly professional models are a turnoff. "The person has to be approachable," Pernice Coyne says.
Images in the middle of a page can present an obstacle course.
People respond to pictures that provide useful information, not just decoration.
Consumers will peek at ads in search engines as a "secondary thing," Nielsen says, since they usually have specific product targets in mind.

The study used eye-tracking equipment to obtain these results.

Posted on March 27, 2006
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Growth of Internet Users Slows

BusinessWeek reports that the growth of people using the Internet has come to a screetching halt. This is partly due to broadband not being available to a considerable percentage of the population. However, there are also some that live in areas where broadband is readily available yet still choose to live net free.

Plowing through e-mail has become part of the daily routine, like brushing your teeth or walking the dog. But Rogers isn't as much of an oddity as it might seem. Despite its popularity among teens and techies, and its use in most offices, the Internet is far from ubiquitous. In fact, 39 million American households still do not have Internet access. That means only 64% of households are connected, according to a recent survey of 1,000 people by Dallas researcher Parks Associates. An even bigger surprise is that the growth of the Internet in the U.S. has stalled. Despite cheaper prices and faster speeds, analysts expect uptake to creep just one percentage point this year, to 65%, and to only 67% by 2009.

Many people are non-Netizens for obvious reasons. They can't afford service or live in remote areas without hope of affordable connections. And some are past the age when they want to adopt new technology. Says Jeanette Lamar, 92: "I'm too old to start that stuff." But the spectrum of naysayers also includes millions of well-off, educated, and younger professionals. Of the survey respondents who say they don't use the Web, 24% make more than $50,000. Some 39% of the Netphobes attended or graduated college or have at least some associate degree training. And 29% are 44 years old or younger. "It's not just everyone's grandmother who is avoiding the Internet," says John C. Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates.

A lot of people that abadoned the Internet in the early 2000s may be surprised to see how much it has advanced and how many useful services there are. They might also be surprised at how much faster it is.

Posted on March 15, 2006
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Online For No Reason At All

A recent Pew study found that one big reason people are online is just for fun or for no reason at all. The survey found that 30% of web surfers used the Internet in this way. MediaShift blogs about digital lollygagging and the fuddy-duddies that want to stop the fun.

Digital lollygagging seems to be catching on in the U.S. And let's face it: The vast majority of blogs and news sites we read have nothing to do with work. Sites such as Fark.com are set up for the express purpose of having fun, usually while at work.

And for the fuddy-duddies who don't want us goofing off at work, there's even a cottage industry of web filter companies that help our bosses monitor what we do online and for how long. Last year, Websense, one of those filtering companies, estimated that Internet "misuse" in the workplace cost American companies $178 billion annually in lost productivity, or a whopping $5,000 per employee per year.

Of course, Websense sees itself as our corporate superhero, ready to solve this national crisis.

"Websense allows organizations to institute flexible policies to effectively manage employee Internet use," says one Websense press release triumphantly. "For example, through implementing time-based quotas, companies may set daily limits to manage employees� access to non business-related websites. Employees can visit these sites for a specific allotment of time each day, and are notified when they must use quota time to access a website."

People are not going to want their Fark or random surfing time micro-managed but it wouldn't be a surprise to see some offices limit surfing time.

Posted on March 7, 2006
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More People Are Surfing the Web for Fun

Media Shift blogs about a new Pew Study that found more people than ever are using the Internet for fun. The study found that 1/3 of web users go online "for no particular reason, just for fun or to pass the time."

In fact, Pew figures that 30% of web surfers were online for no particular reason on the average day in December 2005, up from 21% who were aimlessly surfing the web on the average day-dreaming day in November 2004.

"Compared to other online pursuits, the act of surfing for fun now stands only behind sending or receiving email (52% of internet users do this on a typical day) and using a search engine (38% of internet users do this on a typical day), and is in a virtual tie for third with the act of getting news online (31% of internet users do this on a typical day)," the report said.

Looking at the PDF file for the report you can see two more not very surprising finds. The study found that younger web surfers spends more time surfing the Web for fun. It also found that broadband users were more likely to use the Internet for fun or "no particular reason."

Posted on February 20, 2006
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Surfers Use Search Engines to Find Top Internet Brands

People like to enter the top Internet brands into search engines according to recent study by Nielsen NetRatings. The study found that the top ten keywords were all popular brands and that a several of the top keywords searches are websites with search engines. The top keywords were eBay, google and yahoo. The study was unable to indicate whether the searches were being made by savvy or unsavvy web surfers.

"There are two types of online searchers that type a Web site's URL into a search engine rather than into the browser's address bar: Those inexperienced enough not to appreciate the difference between the two, and those that are so experienced they have become habituated to using the search engine as their portal to the Internet," said Ken Cassar, chief analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "Whether this behavior is driven by ignorance or savvy, the end result is the same: The search engine is the focal point of the online experience for Internet users across the spectrum."

A list of the top keywords is provided below.

ebay: 13,871
google: 13,301
yahoo: 7,997
mapquest: 7,431
yahoo.com: 6,528
pogo.com: 4,062
walmart: 3,688
ask jeeves: 3,389
msn: 3,166
ebay.com: 3,125

Posted on January 20, 2006
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Web Surfers Don't Give Websites Much Time for Error

Reuters reports that a new study has found that people spend only a fraction of a second deciding whether a website is aesthetically pleasing or not.

In just a brief one-twentieth of a second -- less than half the time it takes to blink -- people make aesthetic judgments that influence the rest of their experience with an Internet site.

The study was published in the latest issue of the Behavior and Information Technology journal. The author said the findings had powerful implications for the field of Web site design.

"It really is just a physiological response," Gitte Lindgaard told Reuters on Tuesday. "So Web designers have to make sure they're not offending users visually.

"If the first impression is negative, you'll probably drive people off."

The study also found that personal taste means that not all designs will appeal to everyone.

Posted on January 18, 2006
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Are You an Onlineaholic?

Sci Tech Today reports on a new study that finds as many as 10% of Internet users are net addicts.

A growing number of healthcare specialists estimate that 6 to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million U.S. Internet users are addicted.

Dr. Hilarie Cash, who runs Internet/Computer Addiction Services in the city that is home to Microsoft, and other mental health professionals, call such addicts onlineaholics and diagnose them with Internet addiction disorder.

The New York Times reports that these specialists say Internet dependency that can be as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction.

Skeptics argue that even obsessive Internet use does not exact the same toll as conventionally recognized addictions.

There are already therapies and programs to help these "surfing addicts" overcome their addictions. There is even a name for it: Internet Addiction Disorder. Similar addictions have been reported in specific industries: game addiction, generally to the MMORPG types of games, and blog addiction, addiction to blogging. There is likely some truth to what the healthcare experts are saying but 10% sounds far too high.

Posted on January 4, 2006
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Men and Women Surf Differently

A Pew Internet & American Life Project study has found differences in the way men and women use the Internet. The male demographic still holds the lead in Internet use except in the under 30 demographic where a higher percentage of women use the Internet than men. But the ways men and women use the Internet differs. Here are some of the differences the Pew study found:

Men are slightly more intense internet users than women. Men log on more often, spend more time online, and are more likely to be broadband users.
More than men, women are enthusiastic online communicators, and they use email in a more robust way. Women are more likely than men to use email to write to friends and family about a variety of topics: sharing news and worries, planning events, forwarding jokes and funny stories. Women are more likely to feel satisfied with the role email plays in their lives, especially when it comes to nurturing their relationships. And women include a wider range of topics and activities in their personal emails. Men use email more than women to communicate with various kinds of organizations.
More online men than women perform online transactions. Men and women are equally likely to use the internet to buy products and take part in online banking, but men are more likely to use the internet to pay bills, participate in auctions, trade stocks and bonds, and pay for digital content.
Men are more likely than women to use the internet as a destination for recreation. Men are more likely to: gather material for their hobbies, read online for pleasure, take informal classes, participate in sports fantasy leagues, download music and videos, remix files, and listen to radio.
Women are more likely to see the vast array of online information as a "glut" and to penetrate deeper into areas where they have the greatest interest, including health and religion. Women tend to treat information gathering online as a more textured and interactive process - one that includes gathering and exchanging information through support groups and personal email exchanges.

A full PDF file of the report is also available. ClickZ also has an article about the study that takes a close look at the demographic trends.

Posted on December 30, 2005
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Over 1 Billion Internet Users

Jakob Nielsen at Useit.com reports that the number of Internet users is greater than one billion.

Some time in 2005, we quietly passed a dramatic milestone in Internet history: the one-billionth user went online. Because we have no central register of Internet users, we don't know who that user was, or when he or she first logged on. Statistically, we're likely talking about a 24-year-old woman in Shanghai.

According to Morgan Stanley estimates, 36% of Internet users are now in Asia and 24% are in Europe. Only 23% of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers -- one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto -- were networked together.

It took 36 years for the Internet to get its first billion users. The second billion will probably be added by 2015; most of these new users will be in Asia. The third billion will be harder, and might not be reached until 2040.

Useit.com also estimates that by 2015 Americans will only be 15% of all Internet users. (Via B2Day)

Posted on December 20, 2005
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Surfing the Web From the Bathroom

A new study has found that some Americans are surfing the Web from the comfort of their own bathroom. And apparently it is a "significant number" of Americans according to a News.com.au article.

"A significant number of Americans use the computer connection in the bathroom," said Jeffrey Cole, of the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future.

Since people were unlikely to be surfing in the bath, or while brushing their teeth, Mr Cole said he had concluded that many of them went off into cyberspace while on the throne.

"Over half of those who used Wi-Fi had used it in the bathroom," said Mr Cole, remarking that he believed some people in busy homes retreated there for some privacy.

"It wasn't for comic relief - it was a genuine finding," he said, referring to the survey during an advance briefing to amused US congressional staffers.

The exact percentage of bathroom websurfers will be revealed when the report is released next week.

Posted on December 9, 2005
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41% of Americans Use Search

News.com reports that a new Pew Internet study has found that the number of people using search engines has climbed rapidly from 30% to 41% since July, 2004.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the number of U.S. Web users taking advantage of search engines has risen sharply since mid-2004--from 30 percent of the U.S. Web population in July 2004 to its current level of 41 percent, which translates to some 59 million Americans.

The Pew project also found that those likely to spend more time on search engines tend to be in their 30s and well-off.

The report added, "Those who use search engines on an average day tend to be heavy Internet users. They are much more likely to have broadband connections than dial-up connections; to log on to the Internet several times a day; and to have spent considerable time online during the day."

Search is now the second most popular web activity. Email is still number one. The News.com article also cites a study that found Google dominates the search engine marketshare with 46% of the market. Yahoo is a dismal second with 23% of the marketshare.

Posted on November 29, 2005
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Surfers Love Research Resources

A recent Nielsen//NetRatings report found that use of online education and reference sites is booming -- a 22% spike this year. The report mentioned the following websites:

eHow

NewsBin

NationMaster.com

WWW Virtual Library, RefDesk.com and the Librarians' Internet Index are also great research-related sites. More research links can be found here. Also, library websites tend to be excellent starting points for online research.

Posted on November 7, 2005
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Security Fears Stop Some From Surfing Web

Wired reports that security fears, like identity theft, have caused some people to cut back on their web surfing and shopping. Shopping appears to be taking a bigger hit than web surfing.

As identity theft has grown, so has fear of being victimized through high-tech means. A new study finds some computer users are cutting back on time spent surfing the internet. Some have also stopped buying altogether on the web.

The report from Consumer Reports WebWatch finds nearly a third of those surveyed say they've reduced their overall website use.

Some 80 percent of internet users say they're at least somewhat concerned someone could steal their identity from personal information on the internet. A majority of users asked say they've stopped giving out personal information on the web and a quarter say they've stopped buying online.

There are tons of software companies that offer products like spyware removal and anonymous surfing. Interest in these types of services may continue to increase if Microsoft and other browser software providers cannot prevent threats more easily.

Posted on November 3, 2005
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Web Surfers Are Building the New Web

BusinessWeek has an interesting article that says the new web is being built by you -- the web surfer. The article talks about websites that are powered by users like MySpace.com, Del.icio.us, Flickr, Meetup and Wikipedia.

And this time, it's Your Web. No longer content to be merely viewers and consumers, people increasingly are taking an active part in creating their online lives. With its longtime tagline, "The network is the computer," Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW ) made the case that computing transcended hardware. Sun President Jonathan Schwartz thinks another crucial shift is under way: "The network is now your computer."

At many new Web sites and services, the creative energy of countless souls virtually crackles off the screen. They're cobbling together their own services from customizable Web sites and Lego-style pieces of Web software. By the millions, they're gathering and disseminating their own news with blogs and podcasts, creating customized article and photo feeds from their favorite sites and even annotating them with helpful text tags that others can search for on the Web site del.icio.us. They're producing their own entertainment on video, social-networking, game, and photo-sharing sites such as Yahoo's Flickr. At MySpace.com, some 21 million monthly visitors spend up to several hours a day sharing their thoughts, photos, and music with friends on personalized home pages. Ditto at Cyworld, which claims almost a third of South Korea's 48 million people as members.

"The Web isn't so much a place anymore," explains Ross Mayfield, CEO of Palo Alto (Calif.)-based startup Socialtext Inc., which offers services to create collaborative Web sites called wikis. It's more of a doorway into services, from the user-written reference site Wikipedia to the community organizing service Meetup to the folksy classifieds site Craigslist. As Mayfield noted in a recent blog post, "They Google (GOOG ), Flickr, blog, contribute to Wikipedia, Socialtext it, Meetup, post, subscribe, feed, annotate, and above all share. In other words, the Web is increasingly less about places and other nouns, but verbs."

The article also says that the web will continue to develop more services like the ones mentioned above and new programming tools will make the web even more user-friendly and customizable.

Posted on September 19, 2005
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Web Surfers' Top Pet Peeves

A recent survey by the Hostway webhosting company found that web surfers have specific things that don't like about websites and if they discover one or more of these pet peeves they are unlikely to revisit that website again or buy something from the website. Here is a list of what web surfer pet peeves (Via EcommerceTimes:

Pop-up advertising -- 34.9%

Registration log-on pages -- 16.7%

Software installation -- 15.7%

Slow-loading pages -- 9.1%

Over 76% of respondents said they would be unlikely to return to a website that had one of these peeves and over 70% said they would not buy something from an irksome website.

Update: Bloggersblog.com points out that the lack of all or most of these peeves may be another reason why blogs are so popular.

Posted on August 1, 2005
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Google Reports Record Searches

The ECT News Network reports that Google received a record number of search queries in the second quarter of 2005. For Q2, Google had the most search queries followed by Yahoo, MSN, AOL and then Ask Jeeves.

Google's 5.65 billion U.S. queries placed it at the top of the Web ferret pack for the quarter, followed by Yahoo, with 4.65 billion queries and a 30.4 percent market share; MSN, with 2.39 billion queries and a 15.6 percent share; AOL/Time Warner, with 1.41 billion queries and a 9.2 percent share; and Ask Jeeves, with 934 million queries and a 6.1 percent share.

While Google's market share increased from the first quarter, when it was 35.9 percent -- as did Ask Jeeves' share, which climbed from 5.3 percent, and AOL's, which jumped from 9.1 percent -- Yahoo's share dropped from 31.2 percent and MSN's from 16.3 percent.

Posted on July 20, 2005
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Study: Just 53% Use Search Engines Frequently

If you thought everyone used a search engine every time they are online you would be wrong according to a new study from icrossing and Harris Interactive. The study found that only 53% used a search engine most or every time they went online. Search Engine Watch reports that the study found that people search for things you would expect like information about hobbies, health, job information, directions, news, shopping and entertainment information. One surprising result from the study was that only 13% of the people surveyed reported that they always used Google -- so there is no search loyalty. Here are some other results from the study.

Over half (53%) of all US online adults use search engines most or every time they are online, trailing only e-mail and general surfing
Researching specific topics is the #1 search activity (by 88% of search engine users), followed by getting directions/maps (75%) and looking for news/info about current events (64%)
56% of internet users do not know the difference between natural and paid search listings; males are more confident in reporting they know the difference - over 50% of males say they know, compared to about one-third of females
54% of frequent Google users report knowing the difference between natural and paid listings; the next closest group is Yahoo! users at 42%

Posted on July 19, 2005
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U.S. Workers Busy Surfing the Web

Reuters reports that U.S. workers "waste" two hours of work time each day at the workplace according to a new study. That number seem a little low to us.

U.S. workers say they squander over two hours a day at the workplace, with surfing the Web, socializing with co-workers and simply "spacing out" among the top time-wasting activities, according to a survey released on Monday. Most U.S. companies assume about an hour of wasted time, but workers admit to actually frittering away more than twice as much time at a cost of $759 billion in annual paid salary that results in no apparent productivity, an online survey conducted by America Online and Salary.com showed.

(Via Pleasant Morning Buzz)

Posted on July 12, 2005
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