The release reads in part, “The growth in home high-speed internet adoption, after growing quickly in the past several years, has slowed down and is poised to slow even further, according to a new report released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.”
The May 2005 survey “is built around several national random digit dial telephone surveys of Americans (age 18 and older) conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project.”
Here are a few of the facts and comments from the report: “53% of home internet users have high-speed connections at home, up from 50% in 2004 – a small and not statistically significant increase. This compares unfavorably with growth rates over a comparable time frame a year earlier. In May 2004, 42% of home internet users had high speed connections, 20% over the 35% home high speed penetration figure for November, 2003…
“By 2005…Years of online experience no longer has any significant impact on the intensity of internet use, while having a home broadband connection is a much stronger predictor of the number of online activities that a user does on a typical day…
“The Project’s May 2005 data show there is a smaller pool of dial-up users now compared to 2002 and today’s dial-up users are less likely to be heavy users of the internet. Pew data has shown consistently a pattern whereby people start out their online lives as dial-up users, do more on the internet as they gain more experience, and eventually switch to broadband as they become more dependent on the internet for information, entertainment, and communication.”
For those of us in PR who are trying to capture information and attention from certain target audiences at home using the internet, this is one important swath of the user landscape to consider. While it would be a guess on my part and generalization at minimum, I would suspect that the audiences you are trying to engage will likely have high speed connections. In this report, that person would be described as a “heavy user.” In PR, we’re looking for “heavy users.”
We’ve all experienced the frustration of trying to participate in a survey or buy a product or browse information in dial-up mode. Hands are thrown up in frustration and the users simply disconnect. The experienced PR professional using the web, wants the users to remain engaged, visit for long periods, and enjoy the experience. I, for one, am keeping an eye on these trends regarding usage. How about you?
For the full report, please see: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/164/report_display.asp
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Pew Internet & American Life Project
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Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202.419.4500
Fax: 202.419.4505
