Shift in Online Behavior May Be Evident
March 4, 2009
Enid Burns, ClickZ, wrote “More Time Spent Online Communicating than Getting Entertained” here. I think the data summarized in her article may be harbingers of a shift for some demographic sectors. You can read her article here. She summarizes a report from Netpop Research, so I don’t want to recycle her analysis. The most important point for me was this statement:
Time spent communicating online went from 27 percent of time online in 2006 to 32 percent in 2008. Communication, in the survey, includes activities such as e-mail, instant messaging, posting to blogs, and photo sharing. “We’re really looking to create personal relationships and communicating with people,” said Josh Crandall, managing director of Media-Screen Crandall.
Three observations:
- The Internet technology is absorbing broader human and communication functions. The pace will accelerate and saturation will occur in the foreseeable future in developed nations. Landlines are goners and the new net-based comm modes will ignite considerable change and innovation
- The demographic push on organizations means that social functions of those connected will move to cyberspace. Implications and consequences are difficult to pinpoint. I think the impact will be significant, leaving some traditional online companies behind quickly unless these outfits adapt.
- These services will want to coalesce into what I call a natural monopoly. This too has significant implications for users, regulators, and organizations competing in this emergent ecosystem.
In short, if these data are accurate, the next revolution is underway. Save the Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo T shirts. These items may become collector items if these firms don’t adapt to the traffic speeding down the information superhighway. Think roadkill.
Stephen Arnold, March 4, 2009
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