Forrester Finds Most Users Read, Listen or Watch, Don't Post

Though use of social networking is darn near universal these days, Forrester Research continues to find that the percentage of social media and social networking users who actually create content has not grown, and in fact, might be shrinking. "Behaviors that require creating content have seen no substantial growth in adoption since 2009; in fact, some behaviors have experienced attrition,” says Augie Ray, Forrester Research analyst.

More than 80 percent of online Americans are active in either creating, participating in, or reading some form of social content at least once a month, Forrester Research has said. But most users do not actively create content. In some studies, Forrester has found that 24 percent of online users create content, while 37 percent post responses.

Some 51 percent maintain personal profiles, while 73 percent of online users read blogs, watch online videos or listen to podcasts.

Among online users 35 or younger, social networking is nearly universal, with 90 percent participating in some way. Among those 55 and over, about 66 percent now are participating.

Whether the failure to "contribute content" is a problem or not is a matter of opinion. Not every person who uses social media might find content creation appealing. In and of itself, some of us would not consider that a "problem." To use the older analogy, lots of people read books. Not many write them. These days, the web makes self publishing very easy. But tools do not necessarily change propensity to "create."

Forrester also finds a growing user concern about privacy issues, which might or might not be related to the desire and willingness to create content.

read more here

Samsung Galaxy Tab Gets WSJ App

E-book 4readers and tablet devices fascinate print publishers and print advertisers for obvious reasons. The devices offer a potential way to protect or advance the former print content business, using a display that complements the typical newspaper or magazine layout and format, while offering a bigger canvas for display advertising as well.

It remains to be seen how well paywalls work, and if they do, for which publishers they will work. To date, the Wall Street Journal has been the salient example of a print product with enough uniqueness to sustain a profitable "paywall" version online.

But other publications will start to erect their own paywalls, so we'll get a better test of how "extensible" that model might be.

The new Samsung Galaxy Tab, though, has a new wrinkle, supporting an Android app that delivers the Wall Street Journal digital edition app will download the Digital Edition of the WSJ on the tablet "at about the same time that the physical edition is being delivered to readers."

The app subscription is $3.99 per week. You might ask what the difference is between the existing online product and the app, and the answer is that the app provides a download, while the existing online product provides a more-traditional web browser experience. Each user will be the judge of which format provides a better experience.

Samsung Galaxy Tab to be first Android device to feature WSJ app - Phone Arena

How Hollywood Uses Augmented Reality

Augmented reality now is being used by content companies to enrich user interaction with content promoting movies.

How Hollywood is fueling the adoption of augmented reality | Econsultancy

Android Number 2 Smartphone in Third Quarter

Android accounted for 25.5 percent of worldwide smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2010, making it the number-two operating system. It was particularly dominant in North America.

The third quarter of 2010 produced record sales of more than 81 million communication devices based on open operating systems (smartphones).

Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Grew 35 Percent in Third Quarter 2010; Smartphone Sales Increased 96 Percent

BlackBerry PlayBook will get an under $500 price

BlackBerry PlayBook will get an under $500 price tag - Phone Arena: BlackBerry's 'professional tablet', the PlayBook, will get a price tag of under $500 at its launch in Q1 of 2011.

The 7-inch tablet at that price would undersell the $599 3G Galaxy Tab by Samsung.

BlackBerry is aiming to release the tablet in the first quarter of 2011 in North America through retail stores like Target and Best Buy on one hand and service providers on the other. Globally, the PlayBook will be made available in Q2 of 2011.

Windows Phone 7 Goes on Sale in the United States

Although consumers love their phones, there is growing annoyance with the distracted behaviors people exhibit while their heads are buried in their phones, Microsoft argues.
Most U.S. adults indicate they have witnessed examples of bad mobile phone behavior, yet relatively few have admitted to engaging in such behavior themselves, a study suggests.
Seventy-two percent identified bad mobile phone behavior as one of their top 10 pet peeves, but only 18 percent of mobile phone owners admit they are guilty of displaying such behavior.
Forty-nine percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have tripped or walked into something while walking and texting or e-mailing on their mobile phone.

Windows Phone 7 Goes on Sale in the United States

Beyond Instant results: Instant Previews

Official Google Blog: Beyond Instant results: Instant Previews: "Instant Previews provides a graphic overview of a search result and highlights the most relevant sections, making finding the right page as quick and easy as flipping through a magazine.

To use it, click once on the magnifying glass next to the title of any search result and a visual overview of the page will appear on the right. From there, hover your cursor over any other result to see a preview. For those of you who’ve recently stopped using your mouse to search, now you can navigate to a result, hit the right arrow key to see the preview, and hit the down arrow key to keep browsing."