72% of Online Adults are Social Networking Site Users
The Pew Research Center‘s Internet & American Life Project has been studying online adults’ social networking site use since 2005, and has seen substantial growth since then. Today, 72% of online adults use social networking sites. Although younger adults continue to be the most likely social media users, one of the more striking stories about the social networking population has been the growth among older internet users in recent years. Those ages 65 and older have roughly tripled their presence on social networking sites in the last four years—from 13% in the spring of 2009 to 43% now.
In this report we also studied online adults’ use of Twitter. The percentage of internet users who are on Twitter has more than doubled since November 2010, currently standing at 18%. Internet users ages 18-29 are the most likely to use Twitter—30% of them now do so.
Blog post: Internet phone calling is on the rise
In its early surveys about technology use in 2000, when about half of American adults used the internet, the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project found that about a tenth of those internet users placed phone calls using the internet. In its last reading in late 2012, when over 80% of Americans were internet users, the Project found that 30% of them had placed online phone calls.
Here’s why a war has started between Chinese Internet giants Tencent and Alibaba
Chinese Internet giant Tencent has been on a roll recently — for a while last week, it seemed that plenty of other Chinese tech companies wanted to be friends with the firm behind WeChat, a wildly popular messaging service in the country.
Nielsen: Twitter and TV Programs Are Becoming Fast Friends
Nielsen released findings on Tuesday that shine the spotlight on the two-way relationship that has been burgeoning between TV viewership and Twitter as of late.
On MIT’s report on Aaron Swartz’s prosecution
Hal Abelson’s report on MIT’s actions around Aaron Swartz’s prosecution was released last week. I was on vacation and offline – I returned home Sunday and read the report and some of the responses to it.
Twitter’s Killer New Two-Factor Solution Kicks SMS to the Curb
When Twitter rolled out two factor authentication back in May, it hinted that the SMS authentication would be merely a first step in a more robust security solution. Today, WIRED got a better look at the company’s just-announced new system that relies on application based authentication-which means it can provide a complete end to end security without relying on third parties or codes sent via SMS.
DEA and NSA Team Up to Share Intelligence, Leading to Secret Use of Surveillance in Ordinary Investigations
A startling new Reuters story shows one of the biggest dangers of the surveillance state: the unquenchable thirst for access to the NSA’s trove of information by other law enforcement agencies.
Danny O’Brien on civil liberties groups, the NSA and Bruce Sterling
Yesterday, I posted my reaction to Bruce Sterling’s essay The Ecuadorian Library, where Bruce described activists as “living in a pitiful dream world where their imaginary rule of law applies to an electronic frontier.” Danny O’Brien, who recently returned to a job at the Electronic Frontier Foundation after a stint at the Committee to Protect Journalists, has written an excellent essay on the way that civil liberties and civil society groups and activists have devoted their lives, and risked their safety, in the cause of civil liberties online.
As Twitter seeks to become a global town square, others call it the ‘end of the civilized world’
There’s no discounting the impact that Twitter is having on the way we communicate with one another. On Wednesday, cable news network CNBC will air a one-hour special called#TwitterRevolution that showcases how this microblogging platform has grown up in the past seven years to effectively become a global community. But it’s not all praise for the company, as some question whether the service is opening up a pandora’s box of trouble that could lead to the proverbial ‘end of the civilized world.’
Russians Wary of Snowden Asylum
After spending six weeks ensconced in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Edward Snowden was finally permitted to leave the airport “transit zone” after he received temporary asylum in Russia for the period of one year. Slipping past the media circus and apparently departing in a taxi, Snowden managed to keep his ultimate destination a secret. His Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, stated that Snowden is “the most wanted man on planet earth” [en] and therefore his safety is not guaranteed. This lack of information hasn’t prevented netizens from contemplating Snowden’s new life as a Russian resident.
Yahoo is getting a new logo on September 5, but it’s keeping its infamous exclamation mark
There’s plenty of change happening at Yahoo under Marissa Mayer, but one thing is sure to remain the same…that darn exclamation mark. reddit myth busters
Over the years, we’ve seen many flavors of myths and theories about “reddit the business.” Some of them have been plausible, some have been ghastly, and some have been downright reptilian. We want to address some more common recurring myths we see out there and be as transparent as possible about the size of the company, our business structure, profitability, and other questions we’ve encountered.
Facebook: Here’s How Your News Feed Works
Your Facebook News Feed is a hodgepodge of information: some of it you love, some of it you hate, and some of it may just make you scratch your head. The average user’s News Feed has around 1,500 possible stories filtered through per day, according to Lars Backstrom, engineering manager for Facebook’s News Feed ranking. But only 20% of them actually make your feed
Wikipedia Editor Traced to U.S. Senate Changes Snowden’s Bio to ‘Traitor’
Edward Snowden‘s bio on his Wikipedia page changed from “dissident” to “traitor” on Friday
Related posts:
Cyberculture roundup: PEW report on the demographics of Social Media users… Victory for Wikivoyage…
Cyberculture roundup: Dropbox moves forward.. News from Edward Snowden, Bradley Manning and Aaron Swartz cases…
Cyberculture roundup: “MIT in Aaron Swartz Case…Bradley Manning Case..
New PEW report: Global Publics Embrace Social Networking
Cyberculture roundup: “MIT blocking release of Aaron Swartz’s Secret Service files…
