LSQHA Blog Reviews » Social Media

WSJ Experiments With Location-Based News

cgseo — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:20:12 +0000

Checking-in at a venue around town with the Foursquare mobile location app could now come with a thought provoking payload: a news link related to the place you’re at. The Wall St. Journal announced today that as a part of its new focus on covering New York City, links to Journal stories about various locations will now be offered as tips when Foursquare users check in. Some media observers have been critical of the partnership, focusing on the addition of a few new WSJ-related badges that Foursquare users can now add to their collection. That might seem like an underwhelming feature for a media giant like the Journal to add, but the addition of location-specific, hard news stories as tips is a very intriguing experiment that could point to a big new future for news. It also looks like a lot of fun. Sponsor Previous Foursquare media partnerships have been limited to delivering lightweight content like nearby restaurant reviews or stories about Olympic competition in Vancouver. The Journal is inserting good and bad news, though. Check in at the Mark Hotel on East 77th and you’ll see the following, with a link to full coverage: “This 83-year-old landmark property’s $200 million makeover is facing deep financial woes. Note the top-floor suites, which the hotel is struggling to convert into private residences.” Hanging out at Goldman Sachs HQ? “The SEC has sued Goldman Sachs for fraud related to sub-prime mortgages and the collapse of the housing market. Goldman is fighting the charges.” That’s pretty cool. Of course lightweight tips about baseball games and museums are included as well. A representative from the Journal tells us that the tips are added by hand (not automatically) and that the company is very interested to see what will happen when nearby breaking news starts intersecting with check-ins. The company recognizes there’s a risk of cognitive dissonance, we are told. People probably aren’t expecting to hear about terrorism when they check in to a bridge or other location that’s had such things reported about it. Augmented reality, as it were, isn’t always pretty when it’s good. If this experiment proves successful, we can only hope the idea will be expanded on by these companies and others. From public records, to social media to archival and current news stories – there is a rich depth of information tied to locations in any city that new tools could help unlock. Discuss

Giving in to Facebook: A Weekend on the New "Instantly Personalized" Web (Op-Ed)

cgseo — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:29:52 +0000

At last week’s F8 developers’ conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled plans to offer “instant personalization” all over the web , a way for websites to become instantly more social. Without even signing in, sites gain access to publicly available Facebook information like your name, profile picture, friend list and more, in order to personalize your experience on the site. At launch, only three partner sites are offering this feature: Microsoft’s new Docs.com , Internet radio Pandora and user review site Yelp . You can opt-out of this experience if you like, but by default, you’re opted in. Sponsor These changes have raised concerns among privacy advocates and are even now being questioned by government officials like U.S. Senator Charles Schumer who is urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to look into how social networks handle our private information. And yet… and yet …after spending the weekend on these “instantly personalized” sites, I have to admit…begrudgingly, mind you…that the experience itself is amazing. Online Music Gets Personal, Too Personal? Pandora’s Internet radio is a service I usually partake of via its mobile application on my iPhone, not its regular website. But after the launch of the newly personalized Pandora , I had to take a look. And it was worth it. I immediately discovered which of my friends had the same musical interests as I do. My editor, Richard MacManus, for example, is also a fan of The Killers! Who knew? And apparently, a whole bunch of friends are getting into MGMT now. But finding connections like these aren’t the only types of discoveries you can make here. As social media user extraordinaire Robert Scoble found out , you can easily discover your friends’ more embarrassing personal tastes too. Kenny G?, Scoble laughingly chides a co-worker after stumbling upon his decidedly unhipster musical interests. These are precisely the types of things we want to stay hidden. Kenny G, for instance. But also our secret obsession with that attractive actor or actress, our fondness for pictures of cute kitties, our forays into celebrity gossip sites when we have a reputation for being intelligent thinkers, our secret Star Wars addiction and so forth and so on. While there aren’t ” instantly personalized ” sites showing you all these types of interests just yet, believe me, there will be. If Facebook has its way (and guess what? It will), your real identity , not just the public parts you’ve willingly shared in the past, will be revealed to anyone and everyone unless you take action to opt-out. The Real You Can No Longer Be Hidden This is precisely as it should be, Facebook CEO Zuckberberg, more or less said. Earlier this year, he made statements regarding Facebook’s new openness, claiming that if he built the social network now, he would make a lot of the data housed there more public by default. This would reflect the current social norms, he said. But that’s not exactly true. Facebook isn’t reflecting social norms, it’s attempting to create them. That said, what an amazing creation it is. On Yelp, I can find the reviews my Facebook friends authored with just a click. I can see who else really digs that local sushi place. And I can do all this without going through the whole “re-friending” process that Web 2.0 sites have put me through in the past again and again. I’m there, my friends are there, and I didn’t have to do anything to make that happen. Frankly, it feels right. (Fellow ReadWriteWeb blogger Mike Melanson agrees .) A Minute on the Lips… But it’s oh so wrong, isn’t it? By giving into to Facebook’s vision for the web, we’re ceding control of our data, our likes, our interests, our “social graph” (aka who we know, who we friend) – everything – to one company. Historically , one very, very closed company . We’re definitely worried about the implications of that. You should be too. But in the meantime, like that calorie-rich dessert we know we shouldn’t eat, we’re sampling Facebook’s web and secretly savoring its deliciousness. Why does everything that’s so wrong have to feel so good? Blast you, Facebook. Blast you. Discuss

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Giving in to Facebook: A Weekend on the New "Instantly Personalized" Web (Op-Ed)

ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, 24 April 2010

cgseo — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Time is running out to register for the ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit 2010 ! It’s going to be the premier place to explore the latest mobile development trends – both the technology and the emerging business applications. And since it’s an unconference, you’ll be able to analyze, think and create the future of mobile with the brightest in the industry, your peers! Sign up now. How do you like your events guide? You can import individual events into Google Calendar using the link beside each entry, or download the entire thing as an iCal (and Google Calendar-importable) file, or even view it as a world map . Know of something cool taking place that should appear here? Let us know in the comments below or contact us . Sponsor 29 April 2010: San Francisco, California Green:Net 2010 Calling Internet entrepreneurs! A Greentech conference for you. From Vinod Khosla and Steve Jurvetson to Jerry Brown and Bill Gross, our speakers at Green:Net 2010 will be focused on one thing: how the Internet and IT can be leveraged to save the planet. Could this be the theme of your next startup? Attendees will gain insight into the huge new technology markets that are about to be unleashed. What is Green:Net ? Green:Net is where green and IT meet. While alternative energy gets a lot of attention at most green conferences, only the The GigaOM Network’s Green:Net offers a specific point of view on how the computing and Internet technologies will provide the tools needed to fight climate change. Subscribers of ReadWriteWeb click here to buy your limited supply $150-off ticket. 26 April 2010: San Francisco, California Future of Money and Technology Summit The Future of Money & Technology Summit will bring together the best and brightest thinkers around money, including visionaries, entrepreneurial business people, developers, press, investors, authors, solution/service providers, and organizations who work where cash and commerce collide. We meet to discuss the evolving ecosystem around money in a proactive, conducive to dealmaking environment. Featured speakers include Jolie O’Dell, formerly of ReadWriteWeb, as well as representatives from Wells Fargo Bank, Kiva, SharesPost, Jambool, Founders Fund, Outright.com, SoftTech VC, and many more. Use discount code “rww” to get 10% off registration . 3 – 6 May 2010: San Francisco, California Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco brings together the designers, developers, entrepreneurs, VCs, marketing professionals, product managers, and business strategists – from startups to enterprises – that are building the next-generation Web. Along with a vibrant Expo Hall and plenty of networking opportunities, four main conference tracks cover a spectrum of Web 2.0 topics from business strategy to Web design, user experience, developer hacks, community building, real-time, mobile, cloud computing, user-generated content, and more. Featured speakers include Chris Anderson, Ben Huh, Charlene Li, Kevin Lynch, Hilary Mason, and Brad Stone. Register today . 6 – 7 2010: San Francisco, California Social Gaming Summit

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ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, 24 April 2010

Analyzing Facebook: Sysomos Adds Public Facebook Updates to Its Analytics Platform

cgseo — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:03:35 +0000

Now that Facebook allows developers to store data for more than 24 hours, social media analytics firms like Sysomos are finally able to include public updates from Facebook users in their databases. Sysomos began surfacing this data on some of its customers’ accounts yesterday and plans to roll these new features out to the rest of its users soon. Sponsor Given the size of Facebook’s user base, being able to analyze this data will be a major boon for anybody who is interested in tracking these kinds of updates. Sysomos already allowed its users to search and analyze Facebook fan pages and groups for the last few months through its MAP analytics tool. The company now also includes these updates in Heartbeat, Sysomos’ social media monitoring tool. Sysomos’ integration of the Open Graph API will surface all the activity that has been made public by a user, including status updates and public wall posts. Thanks to Sysomos’ new ability to analyze and search public Facebook updates, we were, for example, able to track the backlash against Facebook’s “instant personalization.” According to Sysomos, only about 15% of the public updates about this topic were positive. Are Facebook Users Aware that their Updates Will Live a Second Life in Social Media Analytics Tools? Sysomos, of course, only pulls in public updates, but we have to wonder if most Facebook users are aware that their updates will end up in the vast data repositories of firms like Sysomos and Radian6. Given the current backlash against what some users perceive as an invasion of their privacy by Facebook, it will be interesting to see how Facebook users will react to this. Discuss

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Analyzing Facebook: Sysomos Adds Public Facebook Updates to Its Analytics Platform

Why Newspapers Need to Heed Facebook, Now

cgseo — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Given Mark Zuckerberg’s announcements at the Facebook F8 conference , one thing is certain: newspapers can no longer ignore Facebook’s impact and reach. Whereas publishers continue to scapegoat Google for many of their current troubles, they should be equally, if not more, wary of Facebook. Whether they acknowledge it or not, newspapers are losing out to the social networking site on the fundamental fronts of community relevance, attention and information dissemination. Yet behind the perceived threat from Facebook, there is also a new opportunity for publications to achieve newfound audience relevance. Sponsor Guest author Chris Treadaway ( @ctreada ) is founder and CEO of Lasso , and author of the upcoming book Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day, an imprint of Sybex. He blogs at treadaway.typepad.com . Facebook’s rise to dominance has been astounding. It is currently the most visited site in the United States, and boasts 400-plus million worldwide users. We’ve seen it go from a dorm room distraction to now being larger than the combined population of the United States and Mexico. With the social network claiming that roughly 70% of its user base is outside the United States, that means that there are at least 120 million Americans on Facebook today. Taken down to the local level, though, this means that Facebook might just already have more reach in the community than any other media outlet – especially local newspapers. With the unveiling of their Web-ubiquitous “Like” button and “social bar,” as well as their Graph API, Facebook is now using its strengths to redefine how we interact with the Web in its entirety. So what does all of this mean for the publishing industry and for newspapers in particular? A few very important things: Facebook is now a legitimate threat to Google. It has accomplished this by changing the game from search discoverability to social context, which wasn’t doable with 40 million users but is with 400-plus million users. Facebook is trying to become the first place people visit when logging into their computers every morning. The site that leads this battle carries the most online leverage, at least until it is knocked off the pedestal. Facebook is attempting to become pervasive across the entire Web, and without permission. Like it or not, site owners are going to have to deal with social media, but now in a much more pervasive way than ever before. Facebook is a competitor for the attention of local audiences. One minute spent on Facebook is a minute not spent on another Web property. Facebook will become a more interesting place as it aggregates data on what people are doing and how they are reacting to the Web as a whole, not just Facebook’s network. So it isn’t just necessary for media outlets to build a better Web sites anymore – they have to build engaging content that can appear on Facebook and drive value to their paper. It isn’t impossible, but it has to be a priority. All of these things impact discoverability of a newspaper’s content, who monetizes it and how. Those that succeed in becoming a viral Facebook content commodity will grow rapidly. Likewise, the decline of those news sources that fail to realize the necessary potential of Facebook will be swift. A deep and complete understanding of social media is necessary for publishers of any kind to modernize, grow and ultimately survive. It’s becoming a necessary core competency, and fast. Yesterday, The Washington Post announced their “Network News” initiative, integrating Facebook into the paper’s website. The Post’s incorporation of activity from users’ Facebook friends immediately creates a value of social relevance that trumps efforts like the New York Times’ similar, though detrimentally insular, TimesPeople network . More importantly, however, are the possibilities such integration might provide for local newspapers. Relevance is a central theme to both the content shared on social networks and the community publication. Facebook offers those newspapers a readymade audience that is already connected to their desired local demographic. Local publications need to recognize the importance of tapping into Facebook’s community, because, first and foremost, it is precisely where their readers are finding, sharing and discussing the types of pertinent content that the papers seek to champion. Newspapers no longer need traditional Web developers. Papers now need Facebook developers, experts who can partner with creative social-savvy businesspeople who know how to take advantage of the social graph. In the wake of Facebook’s new features, it will not be long before newspaper and media executives are attacking and blaming Facebook for their problems in the way they do Google today. However, those publications that more progressively pursue the opportunities and value opened to them by Facebook’s new tools will have a very different reaction. Photo by Michael Rogers . Discuss

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Why Newspapers Need to Heed Facebook, Now

Facebook Accounts for Half Social Traffic; StumbleUpon 2X Twitter

cgseo — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:25:26 +0000

Out of the seven social media platforms considered in web analyst firm StatCounter’s latest look at social media websites as drivers of traffic, Facebook unsurprisingly comes in with nearly half of all traffic. The site takes a look at social media driven traffic and gives us a look at how the lay of the land has changed over the past year. Sponsor The top three social media sites a year ago were StumbleUpon , Facebook and MySpace , in that order. Now, Facebook has taken a clear lead, with nearly half of driven traffic, with StumbleUpon in a surprising second place position, accounting for nearly a quarter of all traffic, and Twitter just behind that with one out of every 10 hits to websites from social media. Myspace, on the other hand, has virtually disappeared, dropping from 16% of hits to nearly 1% this month. It will be interesting to see where these numbers go, as yesterday Facebook announced some very interesting changes to its platform , including a web-wide “like” button, that shares a user’s activity with a single click. With Facebook already dominating social media driven traffic, we have to wonder if this number will only skyrocket with the new sharing and recommendation functionality. The same can be said for Twitter, which last week announced Annotations , a whole new meta-layer of data which will be appended to tweets. This new feature could add some seriously interesting new functionality in this summer and increase Twitter’s already strong presence as a driver of traffic. Discuss

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Facebook Accounts for Half Social Traffic; StumbleUpon 2X Twitter

First Public Draft: Taking the Wraps off of OAuth 2.0

cgseo — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:15:00 +0000

The OAuth 2.0 draft specification is out there. The efforts the group working on the specification are paying off in the form of an IETF working group submission. One thing that is clear is that there is a natural tension in following the processes of IETF and the hyper-innovation cycle of web standards that are now powered by the growth of social media. In this world, keeping up with all the work in the community itself is feat by itself. As proven recently, even aligning the naming of standards in our small community (xAuth, XAuth) proves challenging enough. With that said, we’ll share we what we’ve learned about this version and what work has been incorporated in it. Sponsor For those coming up to speed on the issues surrounding OAuth 2.0, here is a brief summary of the state of the union: The OAuth Working Group in IETF generated a first draft of OAuth 2.0 . This group that is credited with this document consists of active leaders of both the Twitter API team as well as Facebook community standards team. A robust number of daily discussions are happening in the working group hosted at IETF include topics such as the default use of JSON that show the opportunity and challenge of growing the standard from a web-based to a broader set of devices and scenarios. One of the stated goals of the IETF OAuth working group is to maintain backwards compatibility with OAuth 1.0. From our sampling of the depth of change in scope and conceptualization of the standard, this may be a big deal for the group, especially if key members decide to legacy their support for the first versions. As part of the evolution of OAuth, there is the case of the OAuth WRAP Google Group . This group has forged ahead to develop profiles for scenarios seen as extensions to the profile OAuth 1.0A. This includes new ways to gain tokens bringing the use cases of Javascript or RIA applications. WRAP also redefines the dependency on SSL and provides a simpler way to get started using tools easily accessible to the web resource. With some changes noted, this work has been brought forward in the OAuth 2.0 public draft. David Recordon, a chief thought leader in the open web (also employee at Facebook) recently offered this summary ” What’s going on with OAuth ?” to help align the understanding of the evolution of the standard. Here we show one of the better known descriptions of the OAuth flow as provided by Yahoo. The annotations show a few of the areas that are under consideration for changes in OAuth 2.0 and/or in the work done in the OAuth WRAP group. Last week, at Twitter’s Chirp ’10 the Twitter API team gave this presentation, ” Too many secrets, but never enough: OAuth at Twitter “. This document contains overview of the basic process of Twitter, commitment to the movement to OAuth 2.0, and discussion of Twitter’s xAuth and OAuth Echos projects. Twitter Likes to Optimize Twitter is deeply intertwined with the inception and direction of OAuth. The company is both involved in the specifications but also is a lightening rod for discussion in the development community. In the Twitter blogs and developer groups, OAuth is being considered deeply in the trade-offs in implementation, design, and risk in the Twitter ecosystem. A few areas under discussion is how to remove the re-direction from the process, and also how to keep a running log of all account client accesses available to the user as a way to make sure users are aware and signaling proper account use. The Twitter API team has been willing to make change happen in the community by deprecating legacy processes, such as basic auth. With the changes coming in OAuth 2.0 the company may be in the best position to bootstrap developer adoption of the new standards. In this way, OAuth 2.0 need to adapt to the speed and need of the Twitter use cases, to avoid becoming like XML. XML is a good thing, of course, but when push comes to shove, JSON is lighter weight and more compact. This is helping it become the preference for data attribute exchange in APIs like Twitters that support OAuth. With the rise of the social ecosystem as the hub for authorization, it is becoming clear that the IETF efforts need Twitter as much as Twitter needs the IETF. This seems like a good balance that will guide use cases along the way to practical standards formalization. There are a lot of questions out there about OAuth 2.0. Top of mind is whether this technology release will see the effective join of Twitter, Facebook, and Google? Or, will the practical matters of business and strategy keep the standards intact, and the implementations as islands? What is your prediction for OAuth 2.0 and web resource authorization? Discuss

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First Public Draft: Taking the Wraps off of OAuth 2.0

90% of Content on Google Buzz is Bots, Report Finds

cgseo — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:39:37 +0000

Less than 10 weeks after launching, Google Buzz seems so far to have fallen short of capturing the hearts and minds of the social web. A new report from social media analytics service PostRank has found that 90% of the content published into Buzz is automated: 63% is piped in from Twitter and 27% is from automated RSS feeds. So does that mean that nobody participates in Buzz? It’s hard to imagine more premium placement for a service than inside every Gmail inbox, so why hasn’t Buzz caught on? To be fair, it’s hard for any service to compete with the volume of imported Tweets and easily added RSS feeds. The fact that 10% of content published is added manually might even be seen as an early success… maybe. Sponsor Of course the best part of Buzz is the conversations in comments. In my stream at least, I see some amount of conversation but it’s dominated by a few uber-geeks: people who loved FriendFeed before it was acquired by Facebook. The whole Buzz model looks a lot like Facebook does these days, in fact. It doesn’t do much else for users, and there are fewer people being social there. Why use Buzz when your friends are on Facebook? Perhaps that’s the question and why Buzz hasn’t caught on. We’re excited in principle about Buzz because of its potentially disruptive support for open data standards . Apparently it’s mostly robots who get excited about such things, though, as they are mostly the ones coming to the party so far. There are some hardcore Buzz users discussing this… over on Buzz, too . If you do use Buzz, you can be our friend here . We never post automated content there. Discuss

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90% of Content on Google Buzz is Bots, Report Finds

Tips for Networking (Beyond Just "Social Networking")

cgseo — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Building strong networks and developing meaningful relationships are cornerstones to business success. Although it may be a cliche, “who you know” can be incredibly important for startups. With the growth of social networking sites, it seems easier than ever to develop a sizable network of connections: Facebook friends, Twitter followers, your Google social circle, your LinkedIn connections. But having a large social media network means little if you do not maintain these connections. It is important continue to meet new people, cultivate existing relationships and to emphasize the quantity rather than the quality of your connections. Sponsor Last week, in a post on the blog Journalistics, Jeremy Porter wrote, “Too many people think networking is about collecting business cards – whether actual or virtual – in an effort to demonstrate how many people they ‘know’.” Porter listed tips on how to strengthen your network. Here are some things, based on some of his suggestions, to consider as you expand your network: Establish goals: What are the types of people you want to build relationships with? For example, do you need to meet journalists or venture capitalists? Set goals and deadlines for reaching out to make some of these connections. Keep score: If you set goals, track your progress. If you aren’t meeting the people you want and/or building your network how you want, revise your strategy. Make the most of face-to-face opportunities: Some events, such as conferences, are geared towards networking. Make an effort not only to attend these sorts of events but to maximize the networking opportunities there. Have a good opener: As we noted with our tips for crafting your elevator pitch, you need a hook. When you introduce yourself, you should be able to answer the “What do you do?” question consistently and memorably. Here’s my card: It might seem obvious or even outdated, but do not undervalue the importance of the business card – whether electronic or paper. While social networking does make it easy to locate people, having a business card is an invitation for a follow-up. Follow up: It’s easy to toss business cards in a drawer where they’re never to be seen again. Follow up a first meeting with an email or phone call within 48 hours. If you skip this step, you might as well toss the cards. Stay in touch: Don’t let your relationships die off. Keep in touch with people. Porter writes, “Some job hunters I met back in the late 90s are now directors at big brands. When you keep in touch with contacts over the long haul, you’ll be surprised how many interesting connections you’ll have down the road. You’ll quickly become one of those people that knows somebody that ‘does that’ or “works there.” Of course, you want to stay in touch with people so they’ll remember you too. People forget who you are and what you do – you have to remind them regularly if you want to get value from your network.” Share: Give value to your participation in a network and make it so that people value your connection. If you come across interesting information, share it. If somebody asks for help, offer it. Porter says, “Don’t miss the opportunity to pay it forward, you’ll feel great and will find people often reciprocate.” Look in the mirror: Regular self-assessment is good. Ask yourself if you are both gaining from and contributing to your network. Reciprocity is important. Build relationships when you don’t need them: It’s a mistake to only network when you need something (such as financing, a new job, a new team member). Be an active part of your network before you make your pitch to it. Start with one new connection today: Meeting new people and building your network might be one of the most important investments – personally and professionally – you can make. Discuss

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Tips for Networking (Beyond Just "Social Networking")

Digital Media Consumption Increases – But Few Are Willing to Pay

cgseo — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:49:49 +0000

In the UK, consumers are spending more time with digital and traditional media. According to the second KPMG Media and Entertainment Barometer , the average monthly consumption of traditional media climbed from 11 hours and 40 minutes per month in September 2009 to 12 hours and 13 minutes in March 2010. For digital media, the increase was more dramatic. Consumption of digital media rose from 6 hours 14 minutes to 7 hours 28 minutes per month. At the same time, however, consumers now spend less on digital and traditional media. Even though more newspapers are putting their content behind pay walls, the number of consumers who paid nothing for accessing online news actually increased over the last few months. Sponsor People Spend More Time with Digital Media… With regards to new media, a growing number of consumers now spend time on social media and blogging sites (up from 47% in September 2009 to 50% in March 2010) and watch TV online (up from 19% to 24%). KPMG also found that younger Internet users in the UK between 16 and 24 are more likely to engage with new media. Those Internet users who use social media and play online games also tend to spend more time online than others. … But Pay Less More Statistics from the KPMG Report The number of people who don’t pay for print journals and magazines is also up (19% compared to 12% six months ago) 21% of print newspaper readers paid nothing in March 2010 (most likely due to the availability of free newspapers like the Evening Standard in cities like London) People in the UK spent an average of 29 hours in front of their TV last month. Men are more likely than women to engage in new media activities (83% vs. 75%) When it comes to paying for online content, most consumers in the UK continue to pay nothing (88%), though publishers will be happy to hear that younger Internet users between 16 to 24 are slightly more likely to pay for online content than older users. Today, only 3% of Internet users in the UK pay for an online subscription to digital content and about 7% pay for digital content. The number of Internet users in the UK who paid nothing for digital content actually increased slightly over the last six months. Only about 10% of these users who are currently paying nothing for content indicated that they would be likely to buy a paid subscription to online content in the next 12 months. This, according to KPMG’s analysts indicates, that the market for paid subscriptions is “unlikely to grow greatly over the coming 12 months.” KPMG also found that the average spend on digital media in the UK fell from £1.99 in September 2009 to £0.98 in March 2010. Some People Simply Prefer Traditional Media This doesn’t mean that all consumers prefer to access media content online, however. Only about a quarter of respondents preferred online media over traditional media. Most of these users (89%) cited a preference for “reading something physical” over reading on a computer. About 60% of respondents also noted that they simply prefer the experience of traditional media over consuming digital content. Discuss

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Digital Media Consumption Increases – But Few Are Willing to Pay