The Pew Foundation released an intriguing paper on American Internet usage. According the their report, just a little over 50% of us use the Internet daily, mostly, it seems for email, news, and checking the weather.
At first glance, you’d be compelled to think, “Aha, the statistics indicate all the hype for social media is just that—enthusiasm around a dream or fantasy, not grounded in real life.” Indeed, social networking is low on the list and Twitter is dead last.
From their report, it seems very few people use the Internet daily to
- make a donation to charity
- download or share files using peer-to-peer file sharing networks
- download a podcast
- rate a product, service or person
- buy or make a travel reservation, or
- participate in an online auction
So much for Web 2.0, a new world order, or fundamental structural change in the way we relate to one another, right?
Think about the companies who are making HUGE money on the Internet right now. Who comes to mind? How about
- Apple with their iTunes Store
- eBay with online auctions
- charity:water with their Twestivals in 175 cities around the world
Think through the actions less than 20% of us do daily on the Internet (i.e., “look for news or info about politics or the upcoming campaigns”). Either there’s something screwy with Pew’s research (probably not likely) or less than 20% of us are alive, awake, active in living. (Or, maybe the Internet’s just not that big a deal for most people. One more: or, it can be immensely profitable to connect with “light users” who are on the Internet something other than “daily.”)
Don’t let Pew’s research discourage you. Instead, be encouraged about what someone or some company, intensely focused, can do on the Internet with just a very few. If anything, the Pew report reminds us that the world wide web is not so much about the entire world but about reaching and connecting with the few, maybe the few right in your own hometown.
