Digital Media Adoption
AdAge on the adoption of blogs, podcasts and newsfeeds:
"According to Jupiter Research, 7% of American adults write blogs and 22% read them; about 8% listen to podcasts and 5% use RSS feeds. According to a separate study by WorkPlace Print Media, 88% of the at-work audience doesn't even know what RSS is. And recent data from word-of-mouth research group Keller Fay indicate 92% of brand conversations were taking place offline -- far more than the commonly assumed rate of 80%."
So, blogs, podcasts and newsfeeds are fads, right? No, not in an increasingly complex media environment. Digital technologies are an important way to reach influencers:
"In Keller Fay's studies, for example, while 92% of brand conversations took place offline, nearly half involved some reference to media or marketing that people had seen or heard and were talking about. And the internet nearly tied TV as a reference source."
[Update: Dead 2.0 busts me for "paint[ing] a rosy sunset picture full of lollipops and leprechauns and unicorns and clowns" by contradicting the statistics I cited when I wrote: "So, blogs, podcasts and newsfeeds are fads, right? No, not in an increasingly complex media environment. Digital technologies are an important way to reach influencers."
The eMarketer stats Dead 2.0 cites to deliver an "I told you so" refer to digital media adoption by adult US Internet users. Influencers are a small (or tiny, if you want to get vaguely specific) percentage of the overall population of 'net users. The stats also don't account for kids who can be described as influencers. Media consumption by this small subset differs from that of the overall population -- depending on the type of influencer you're trying to reach, adoption of digital media can be much higher -- so there's not a direct correlation between the general population's adoption or awareness of RSS, blogs, etc. and the use of these technologies to reach influencers.
The stats I cited were also bullish on digital media, but my point's the same. So where's the contradiction?]
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