Online Traction

A recently released study from the reputable Pew Group reveals some interesting gems on internet usage in the US:

• 73% internet penetration among US adults (over 140MM people) - up from 66% in ‘05. This is comprised of 71% women and 74% men

• Three-quarters of white adults (74%) go online, compared to 61% of African-American adults. Fully 80% of English-speaking Hispanics go online

• Of all home internet users 34% use dial-up connection while 62% use a high-speed connection

• 80% of adults under 30 go online regularly, compared with 32% for those 65 and older

• 79% of internet users research a product or service before buying it

• 67% buy a product

• 1 in 6 Americans read blogs (small decrease from previous Pew survey). This amounts to 40% the size of the talk radio audience or about 20% of the newspaper reading audience

• 1 in 20 have created blogs

• Only 13% of those surveyed had a “good idea” of what a podcasting is

• 91% use a search engine to find information

• 43% bank online

• 38% pay bills online

• over one quarter participate in online auctions

Perhaps most surprising for me is the number of people who are conducting transactions (bills, publishing blogs, auctions) as opposed to just reading and browsing. This indicates not only a significant degree of trust but also a degree of reliance. Also I can’t believe that over one third of the country is still using dial-up while the Republic of Macedonia is installing the infrastructure to enable country-wide wifi.