'Online content is king'
2007-08-14 07:04
New York - Internet users spend nearly half their time online viewing news or entertainment content, surpassing activities such as sending e-mails, shopping or searching for information,
according to a study released by the Online Publishers
Association.
The four-year study, conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings,
tracked a 37% increase in amount of time spent viewing
content such as online videos or news, surpassing a 35%
rise in using search engines like Google Inc.
The abundance of content and faster online speeds accounted
for the spike, the study said. A proliferation of social
networks such as News Corps' MySpace and Facebook have helped
boost content viewing as well.
Overall, viewing content accounts for 47% of time
spent online in 2007, up from 34% in 2003. Web search
accounted for five percent of time spent online in 2007 from three percent in 2003.
Time spent on commerce sites such as Amazon.com fell five
percent and accounted for 15% of time spent in 2007.
Time spent on communications such as e-mail fell 28%
to 33% of time spent online in 2007, down from 46%
in 2003.
The popularity of instant messaging such as AOL Instant
Messenger, which lets users send quick messages rather than
e-mails, accounted for the drop in the amount of time spent
corresponding, the study said.