Shift *Is* Happening - But Are We Shifting?
Universal McCann has released a new report (Wave 3) describing what Richard MacManus (ReadWriteWeb) has termed "the impact of social media (such as blogs, social networks, online video) on the media landscape."
I prefer to call it the "umpteenth reason why educators need to Pay Attention report", but that's neither here nor there. See for yourself what I mean (from the report, italics added by me):
Social media - and blogs in particular - are becoming a more important part of global media consumption for internet users than some traditional media channels.If 73% of internet users worldwide are reading blogs, then clearly a large percentage of our students are reading them too. What are we doing as educators to channel the use of such technologies - for our students' amelioration and for our instructional sanity?
In South Korea - the market that's leading the world in digital trends - 77% of internet users read blogs each week compared to just 58% reading the mainstream press.
Globally, 73% of internet users are reading blogs
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The March 2008 survey of 17,000 global internet users is, according to Universal McCann, "the most detailed survey of the Social Media revolution." In spite of the bias that such a claim emits, I still think these figures are something that educators everywhere should consider:
- 83% of internet users watch video clips, up from 62% in the last study in June 2007
- 78% of internet users read blogs, up from 66%
- 57% of internet users are now members of a social network
- 70% of internet users in China write a blog, 66% in the Philippines and 60% in Mexico
- China is the world's largest blogging market with 42 million bloggers - versus 26 million in the United States.
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