Message from Michael - June 22, 2009

Message From Michael                                 

                                                                                                                        June 22, 2009                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

      SOCIAL MEDIA-TED ELECTION

      MASSIVE MEDIA MOVEMENT

      MEDIA IMMUNITY IN THE RECESSION

      COCKTAIL CHATTER – HAPPINESS AND DRINKING

      ADDENDUM – TOO MUCH 411

 

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      SOCIAL MEDIA-TED ELECTION:  Yes, the U.S. Presidential election was a watershed/ turning point/ big deal in the use of social media in politics, but one factoid about the controversial Iranian election and social media speaks volumes.  The founder of Twitter and its IP provider, NTT America, agreed to hold off a ‘critical’ upgrade of the service because of the role Twitter was playing “as an important communication tool in Iran.”  Reportedly, opposition party leaders in Iran used Twitter and other social media to coordinate and monitor their election efforts and since the loss, it has been used to coordinate the protests.  On the official twitter blogsite, Twitter founder Biz Stone said it was “humbling” to know the service could be playing a “globally meaningful role.” He was careful to emphasize that while the U.S. State Department asked for Twitter to continue, it was a decision by Twitter.  Until it was blocked by Iranian authorities, Facebook was also used to coordinate opposition efforts while protest video has been posted on YouTube. 

Yes, I know I’ve written about Twitter before, but it seems like social media – and Twitter in particular – have dominated media news over the past two weeks.  Also, as a personal side note, I have been asked by a couple of people if they could follow me on Twitter which is odd because I don’t twitter.  This isn’t another paean to twittering but rather a perspective on twittering.  For example, several websites (compete.com and quantcast.com) indicate that the two-year-old service may have peaked with its just under 20 Million users.  In May of this year, Twitter grew by a little more than a percent, dramatically less than other social networking sites.  Web analytics site HubSpot reports in its second annual “state of the twittersphere” that more than half (54.88%) of the Twitter accounts have NEVER tweeted; more than half (55.5%) are NOT following ANYONE; and more than half (52.71%) have NO followers.  Based on having less than ten followers, or ten friends or ten updates, the analysis says one in ten twitter accounts is dormant.  Another study by the Harvard Business Review found that more than half of Twitter users ‘tweet’ less than once every 74 days and that the top 10% of frequent ‘tweeters’ account for more than 90% of all tweets.  The Business Review study also found that, contrary to all other social networking, twitter is a male-driven activity rather than a female driven one.

None of this is meant to discount the impact of Twitter.  Again, I refer to the point above about Iran.  Website editorsblog.org notes that despite some criticisms on Twitter of mainstream media’s coverage of the Iranian election, it cites the CNN headline referring to “teargas and Twitter” in coverage of the Iranian protests.  Website PR 2.0 Blog makes the point that Twitter may be the broadcast medium for the new media generation.  The mediashift blog of PBS.org notes that more and more journalists are turning to Twitter for both personal and professional reasons.  And recently in New York, there was a “140 character conference” which is to be followed by two more – in Los Angeles and in London, which by the way is the twitter capital of the world.  But you know there is a rebellion in the offing when Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor is quitting Twitter because of the Internet “trolls” who blankety-blank-blank-blank everything he does on Twitter.

      MASSIVE MEDIA MOVEMENT:  In less than five years, the Global IP traffic is expected to increase more than five times over, according to the Visual Networking Index created by networking firm Cisco which provides much of the backbone for the Internet.  The company says that by the year 2013, there will be 56 EXABYTES of Internet traffic monthly – compared to the monthly average of nine exabytes of traffic last year.  The major reason – the growth in video which, in all its various forms (TV, VoD, Internet Video and P2P), will account for more than 90% of the total global consumer IP traffic.  Another part of the reason is what the report calls “consumer hyperconnectivity” which will increase what is ill-defined as the “network day” from 36 hours to 48 hours by 2013.  That hyperconnectivity includes active digital multitasking such as listening to music online while web browsing, as well as passive networking such as recording on a DVR while watching other programming.  The other big growth is in mobile broadband which the report says will double every year.  Of that traffic nearly two thirds (64%) will be mobile video.  Most of the Internet traffic occurs in the Asia-Pacific region which is expected to account for 21 exabytes of data a month by 2013, followed by North America (13 exabytes) and Western Europe (12.5 exabytes).  Even though the Middle East and Africa are growing the fastest, by 2013, they will only account for one exabyte of data a month. 

In what it calls some ‘fun facts,’ the report says the amount of traffic crossing the Internet would be the equivalent of 10 Billion DVD’s; that the surface area of the world’s digital screens in use by 2013 would be the equivalent of 2 Billion large-screen TV’s which translates into 15 times the surface area of Manhattan, or put another way, would circle the globe 48 times.  Okay, a quick lesson, so you don’t have to look it up, an exabyte is a thousand petabytes which is a thousand terabytes which is a thousand gigabytes.  Interestingly, although the report references the “overwhelming pace”, it doesn’t indicate any concerns about keeping up with the growth.

      MEDIA IMMUNITY IN THE RECESSION:  Sorry, don’t get your hopes up about some positive news about media sales.  Instead it’s a report about broadband penetration which echoes the growth noted in the Cisco study.  Broadband adoption in U.S. homes has jumped to nearly two thirds (63%) compared to just over half (55%) a year ago, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.  What I had forgotten was that the previous report showed broadband adoption IN THE HOME (an important distinction) had been stagnant.  The report appears to indicate that broadband adoption has grown in the population areas which had been having low usage in the past.  For example, lower income groups such as those making less than $20,000 grew from 25% in 2008 to 35% in 2009; senior citizen usage grew from 19% in 2008 to 30% in 2009; broadband use among those with only a high school degree grew from 40% in 2008 to 52% in 2009; and in rural America, broadband use grew from 38% in 2008 to 46% in 2009.  The only population subgroup that did not grow as much was African Americans where growth was below average.  In comparison usage amongst the high income population as well as the higher education population grew but only slightly.  The point about the recession immunity comes from a part of the survey which showed that twice as many people had cut back or cancelled their cell phone or cable TV plan rather than the Internet service.  That’s even though the cost of broadband has increased, especially – you’ll love this – in areas where there is only one Internet provider as opposed to several Internet providers.      

      COCKTAIL CHATTER:  As the Monty Python skits used to say… and now for something completely different. Despite the economic problems in the country, more than a third (35%) of Americans say they’re “very happy,” according to… you’ll love this… The Happiness Index, a survey of 2,400 adults in the U.S., put together by The Harris Poll.  That’s the same… again despite the economy… as last year.  The pollsters say a close network of friends and positive relationships with family turned out to be more of a deciding factor in the happiness quotient than money or economic stability.  Spiritual beliefs also play a part.  As does education -- the more educated you are, the more happy you are, according to the poll, although the variations are small.  Women are slightly happier than men (36% versus 34%) and more married women are happy compared to single women (38% versus 34%).  Oddly, there was no numbers for married men versus single men.  I asked the pollsters why not and haven’t received a reply.  Unrelated (or at least I think it’s unrelated), just under a third of Americans (29%) drink alcohol at least once a week while a quarter (25%) say they never drink alcohol.  Again, according to our friends at The Harris Poll.  Only six percent say they drink daily and the same percentage say they drink ‘once a year.’  Men are twice as likely to drink as women (40% versus 19%) and women are more likely than men to say they never drink (29% versus 22%).  The favorite drinks – beer (67%), domestic wine (49%), Vodka (41%), Rum (32%) and foreign wines (29%), followed by Tequila (24%), Champagne (18%) and various whiskeys after that.

      ADDENDUM:  Proof that I sometimes cram too much stuff into my messages, several people sent me the link to an online video even though I mentioned it in my previous MfM. (Either that or I’m a lousy writer.)  Anyway it’s the hottest viral video for us media types.  It’s Mad Avenue Blues, which is a song about The Day The Media Died, set to Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie.  Here are two links -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CqRcCHk_Pc . Or http://tinyurl.com/qcz2sm.  As long as I’m repeating stuff, let me repeat the Association of Independent Creative Editors website (http://www.aice.org).  My favorite here is Gnarls Barkley Who’s Gonna Save My Soul which won the music video category.  Warning – it is a little graphic, but it is also poignant and touching.  Watch the two of them and let me know what you think.               

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