So what type of tech user are you? Did you take the survey yourself? 

Yesterday, I shared a study I ran across which was done to discover how American adults use (or not) the internet as well as other communication tools, like iPods, cell phones, Bluetooths and other electronic tools.  

The report was written by John B Horrigan, Director of research for the PEW Internet & American Life Project, based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International between February 15 to April 6, 2006, among a sample of 4,001 adults, 18 and older. 

PEW divides Americans up into three main categories, as well as 10 subset groups . Here’s the breakout:

·                     Elite Tech Users (31% of American adults)

·                     Middle-of-the-road Tech Users (20%)

·                     Few Tech Assets (49%) 

It’s a fascinating report, but rather than have you read the whole thing, here are some of the highlights: 

Of the “middle of the Road Users” half  of them have invested in a lot of technology, but they find the connectivity intrusive and all the information something of a burden. Many of them say they suffer from information overload (sound familiar?). The typical member of this female-dominated group is in her late forties and not many would miss it if they had to without the internet, email, or their cell phone. 

Of the “Few Tech Assets” group, only 15% are considered “off the Network”, which means those people who have neither cell phones nor internet connectivity and who tend to be older adults content with traditional media resources. 

For Lackluster Veterans, 8% of the Middle Roaders, the thrill of information technology is gone – if it was ever there to begin with. The members of this fortyish group of mostly men came online in the mid-1990s and seem to carry the weight of necessity more than a full hearted embrace of information technology’s affordances.  

Productivity Enhancers: this 8% of American adults happily get a lot of things done with information technology, both at home and at work, and view it as a way to give them an edge intheir professional and personal lives. 

Inexperienced Experimenters: another 8% have the willingness to try new things online, which goes along with their openness to technology and they might even be willing to try even more if they had it. This is likely to be a woman and entering her fifties; she is likely to have been online for a relatively short amount of time – about five years – and to have an income just above the average. 

To read the rest of the article…CLICK HERE

 I am an Omnivore. What are you?

You can find out by taking a survey on the PEW Internet & American Life Project website. You probably already have a good feel for what kind of “techie” you are (or not), but you can see where you fit in with other Americans AND for those of you who are in “the business” you’ll find it valuable as well. Obviously, I’m fascinated enough to write about it.  Apparently I belong to only 8% of the American public who are deep users of Web 2.0 applications and mobile applications they’ve lovingly named “Omnivores”. 

Omnivores are a subset of people who fall into the “Elite Tech Users” categorywhich make up 31% of American adults. We are the most active participantsin the information society, consuming information goods and services ata high rate and using them as a platform for participation and self expression.We have a deep and varied tech appetite, which is why we are called the Omnivores. Most Omnivores are in their twenties (Where did I get lost?:) and nearly all have high-speed connections available at home or work. We are highly engaged with video online and digital content. Between blogging, maintaining our Web pages, remixing digital content, or posting our creations to our websites, we are creative participants in cyberspace. 

PEW divides Americans up into three main categories, as well as 10 subset groups and I’m sure you’re dying to know which group you belong to! Be sure to take the survey to find out, but in the meantime… Here’s the breakout according to the report written by John B Horrigan, Director of research for the PEW Internet & American Life Project, based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International between February 15 to April 6, 2006, among a sample of 4,001 adults, 18 and older. 

·                     Elite Tech Users (31% of American adults)

·                     Middle-of-the-road Tech Users (20%)

·                     Few Tech Assets (49%) 

Go take the survey, then come back tomorrow for some fascinating highlights and conclusions of this study.

To Learn More About Women, Technology & the Internet, CLICK HERE

The demographics of Internet usage, especially with reference to the sexes, have been subject to great speculation ever since the advent of the Internet. Do men and women use Internet the same way or differently? What do women think of the Internet? How do they negotiate this space and how they use it? What exactly is the Internet being used for by women? What are women’s hopes, dreams and fears about the Internet?

A million significant questions to which there are no easy answers, if only because of the constantly evolving dynamics between the sexes. Most studies on the way men and women use the Internet reveal that men are still first out of the blocks when it comes to trying out the newest innovations and latest technologies. They are also more demanding in their quest for Internet activities—logging on more often and spending more online when they do.

Closing the Gender Gap

Recent trends in internet usage however indicate that, although the percentage of women using the Internet still lags slightly behind the percentage of men, the gender gap is slowly closing. Women are steadily catching up in overall use of the Internet and they are framing their online experience with a greater emphasis on strengthening connections with other people. A recent Burst Media survey indicated that 66.1% of women claim their lives are likely to be disrupted if they had to do without Internet access for even one week.

The Internet as a tool for Communicating:

The demographics of Internet usage, especially with reference to the sexes, have been subject to great speculation ever since the advent of the Internet. Do men and women use Internet the same way or differently? What do women think of the Internet? How do they negotiate this space and how they use it? What exactly is the Internet being used for by women? What are women’s hopes, dreams and fears about the Internet?

Go here to discover the answers to the questions:

Statistics indicate that women account for a larger amount of consumer spending as compared to their male counterparts. This isn’t exactly surprising if you consider that it’s just an inherent tendency from the real world carried over into the virtual world. In fact, shopping for women is more than retail therapy.

Who’s spending the big bucks?

According to a recent survey, women in the US and the UK spend larger amounts of money online as compared to men and this is not only demonstrative of their shopping impulses but also proves that the Internet is no longer a “man-thing”. More women are beginning to surf the net and are fully utilizing the modernistic benefits that it brings with it.

Statistics reveal that the average bill for women who shop online is approximately $900. While in the case of male online shoppers this figure stays at $850. For women, the inclination to shop online is far greater than men. This has proven to be a powerful driving force and has greatly influenced the sales growth on the Internet.

Another report reveals that, women aged 55 years and over, are in fact the biggest spenders on the Internet. This can perhaps be attributed to the fact that women who fall under this age group have more disposable incomes and they also may have more time to surf the Internet. This habit has almost translated itself into a hobby; wherein the online woman shopper browses for cheap deals and bargains while saving herself the time and effort of driving to an actual store.

In fact, among affluent women, the Internet serves as an indispensable and convenient platform to shop online. With a diverse range of products and services available and a convenient way to buy them, older women lead the race of Internet shoppers and perhaps will continue to do so.

Viewing it from yet another perspective, women are the primary shoppers when it comes to buying groceries and other commodities for the household and for the kids. The compulsive and impulsive behavioral pattern was perhaps intended by nature and when it comes to decision making (especially while shopping), women perhaps have a heightened success ratio as compared to men.

The ’shop till you drop’ attitude

Customarily, it was the man who earned and the woman who spent. With the internet and the women’s movement, shopping is still a woman’s job, albeit on a more modernized and virtual platform.

Online shopping is fun and can get truly addictive as consumers are exposed to a whole lot of paraphernalia from all over the globe. Women either indulge in impulsive shopping or shop to satiate their needs and it works like magic to lift their spirits every time. 

To read the rest of this article click here:

Getting your Website indexed, or included, in search engine results depends on several factors. And those factors vary from search engine to search engine.

While you want to get your Website indexed by as many search engines as possible, the Web’s three largest search engines—Google, Yahoo, and MSN—are where you want to focus your efforts. Combined, these search engines account for more than 90% of the entire Web’s search traffic.

Getting indexed by Google, Yahoo, and MSN is harder than it used to be but it’s absolutely necessary to promoting yourself online. You may have the best Website with the best copywriting but you’ll be limiting your online promotion if you don’t get indexed properly.

Below are 3 tips to help you get your Website indexed by the “big 3″ search engines.

Tag Along

The quickest way to get search engines to visit, and index, your site it to place a link on another site that’s already been indexed. If you know someone that has an established Website—and has for years—ask if you can place a link on their site. When the search engine bots visit your friend’s site, they’ll follow the link to your site.

The time it takes for the search engines to visit and index your site varies. If the site you’ve placed your link on is popular, you might get indexed in a few days. Otherwise it can take up to a few weeks.

How do you know if you’ve been indexed? Type the search term “site:www.yoursite.com”—without the quotes—into each search engine. If your pages show up in the results, you’re getting indexed.

Discover the other tips in the full article here: