Nearly Half American Internet Users are Content Creators

44% of US Internet users have created content for the online world through building or posting to websites, creating blogs and sharing files, though blogging accounts for no more than 7%.

In a national phone survey between March 12 and May 20, 2003, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that more than 53M American adults have used the Internet to publish their thoughts, respond to others, post pictures, share files and otherwise contribute to the explosion of content available online. Some 44% of adult Internet users have done at least one of the following:
* 21% of Internet users say they have posted photographs to websites.
* 17% have posted written material on websites.
* 13% maintain their own websites.
* 10% have posted comments to an online newsgroup. A small fraction of them have posted files to a newsgroup such as video, audio, or photo files.
* 8% have contributed material to websites run by their businesses.
* 7% have contributed material to websites run by organisations to which they belong such as church or professional groups.
* 7% have webcams running on their computers that allow other Internet users to see live pictures of them and their surroundings.
* 6% have posted artwork on websites.
* 5% have contributed audio files to websites.
* 4% have contributed material to websites created for their families.
* 3% have contributed video files to websites.
* 2% maintain blogs, according to respondents to this phone survey. In other phone surveys prior to this one, and one more recently fielded in early 2004, Pew found that between 2% and 7% of adult Internet users have created diaries or blogs. (In this survey, 11% of Internet users have read the blogs or diaries of other Internet users. About a third of these blog visitors have posted material to the blog.)

Most of those who do contribute material are not constantly updating or freshening content. Rather, they occasionally add to the material they have posted, created, or shared. For instance, more than two thirds of those who have their own websites add new content only every few weeks or less often than that. There is a similar story related to the small proportion of Americans who have blogs.

The most eager and productive content creators break into three distinct groups:

* Power creators are the Internet users who are most enthusiastic about content-creating activities. They are young – their average age is 25 – and they are more likely than other kinds of creators do things like use instant messaging, play games, and download music. And they are the most likely group to be blogging.

* Older creators have an average age of 58 and are experienced Internet users. They are highly educated, like sharing pictures, and are the most likely of the creator groups to have built their own websites. They are also the most likely to have used the Internet for genealogical research.

* Content omnivores are among the heaviest overall users of the Internet. Most are employed. Most log on frequently and spend considerable time online doing a variety of activities. They are likely to have broadband connections at home. The average age of this group is 40.

'Internet addiction' linked to Depression
Source: BBC, 9 February 2010
 
There is a strong link between heavy internet use and depression, UK psychologists have said.

Could *You* be more Usable?
Source: UN, 8 February 2010
 
Bet you could.

Stowe Boyd on 'Steampunk' thinking about the Future of Computing
Source: Stowe Boyd's blog via Experientia, 6 February 2010
 
Are established metaphors of user experience holding us back from new ways of structuring our interaction through computers?

Nokia's User Experience Programme
Source: UN, 5 February 2010
 
Nokia has put together a rich and informative website covering the key elements of user experience.

Interfaces magazine: latest issue available now
Source: HCI News Service, 4 February 2010
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available in pdf format, free from the Interaction Website.

A Lighter Brigade of Chargers
Source: UN, 3 February 2010
 
Lots of gadgets, one charger. At last.

Mobile Touch Screens could soon Feel the Pressure
Source: MIT Technology Review, 2 February 2010
 
A quantum switch could add pressure sensing to mobile screens.

Usability, Usability, Usability: why the iPad will Succeed
Source: Econsultancy, 1 February 2010
 
The tech critics love it, hate it, love it again, shrug it off. What do usability experts say?

British Airways - at last some good news
Source: Loop11, 30 January 2010
 
In a recent website usability study for the world's leading airlines, the British Airways website proved to be the most user friendly, with Malaysia Airlines and Virgin Atlantic having the lowest user experience rating.

Computation of Emotions in Man and Machine
Source: Royal Society, 29 January 2010
 
Advances in computer technology now allow machines to recognise and express emotions, paving the way for improved human-computer and human-human communications.