Digital Lifescapes

comScore released data showing that 182 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in September for an average of 19.5 hours per viewer. The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in 39.8 billion video views. Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in September with 161 million unique viewers, while VEVO ranked second with 57.3 million. Microsoft Sites climbed to the #3 position with 54 million viewers, followed by Viacom Digital with 53.4 million and Facebook.com with 49.9 million. Nearly 40 billion videos views occurred during the month, with Google Sites generating the highest number at 18.6 billion. The average viewer watched a record 19.5 hours of online video content, with Google Sites (6.3 hours) also demonstrating the highest engagement. Americans viewed more than 6.8 billion video ads in September, with Hulu generating the highest number of video ad impressions at more than 1 billio...

Measuring the performance and resulting impact of a marketing organization has always been difficult -- particularly where the primary metrics tend to be quantitative, and few are qualitative. Today, most marketers would like to demonstrate meaningful online influence as their key performance indicator (KPI). But when capturing that metric proves to be elusive, they attempt to refocus their monitoring efforts on target stakeholder engagement. By far, the more common outcome that's reported, however, tends to be counting activity-oriented or event-oriented metrics (clicks, impressions, etc.). eMarketer reports that companies now realize that amassing fans and followers is not the ultimate goal of social media marketing. Yet the challenge remains -- how to measure marketing success that a chief executive would gladly reward. Data from the August 2011 Chief Marketer “2011 Social Marketing Survey” found that only 26 percent of marketing professionals saw amassing total follow...

The telecommunication services boom in the emerging markets of the Asia-Pacific is expected to continue in 2011, and will drive the total mobile subscription rate in the region to grow by more than 15 percent. According to thee latest market study by ABI Research , the mobile market in the Asia-Pacific still has the potential to grow at more than a 10 percent rate for the next two years. The smartphone market is also forecast to have healthy growth, with 24 percent share in total handset shipments in 2011 -- that's up from 17 percent in 2010. Smartphone shipments in Asia will see a significant growth of 56 percent in 2011, which indicates the growing demand for smartphones in emerging Asian markets. Smartphone shipments in Asian markets will see a boost for Android-based smartphones, with market share increasing to 52 percent in 2011, up from 16 percent in 2010. As a result, the combined market share of Samsung and HTC, the leading Android-based smartphone makers in A...

You've been thinking about your next portable computing device, but you can't decide because there are now numerous options to consider. Perhaps the next device that you purchase won't be called a computer. Does it matter? Media tablet shipments surpassed netbook personal computer (PC) shipments this quarter -- reaching 13.6 million tablets, compared to just 7.3 million netbooks. Netbook PCs had previously led the way with 8.4 million shipments in 1Q11, compared to just 6.4 million media tablets. “This is a trend that we do not expect will reverse,” says Jeff Orr, group director, mobile devices at ABI Research . “As they are different segments, this is not a direct replacement behavior, but a changing of leadership for the most interesting device type.” Driving media tablet interest is Apple’s iPad 2. In fact, 68 percenet of the media tablet shipments in 2Q11 consisted of Apple iPad models. Consumers are choosing tablets over netbooks for a number of reasons. Med...

comScore released results of a study on mobile social media usage which showed that 72.2 million Americans accessed social networking sites or blogs on their smartphone in August 2011 -- an increase of 37 percent in the past year. Their latest market study also provided new insights into how mobile users interact with social media, finding that more than half read a post from an organization, brand or related event while on their mobile device. “Social media is one of the most popular and fastest growing mobile activities, reaching nearly one third of all U.S. mobile users,” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president for mobile. “This behavior is even more prevalent among smartphone owners with three in five accessing social media each month, highlighting the importance of apps and the enhanced functionality of smartphones to social media usage on mobile devices.” In August 2011, more than 72.2 million people accessed social networking sites or blogs on their mobile de...

According to the latest market study by Juniper Research , mobile voice-over-IP (mVoIP) clients downloaded to a smartphone will account for four fifths of 640 million mobile VoIP users by the end of 2016 -- while alliances between carriers and mVoIP specialists will remain relatively few in number. Improved technology, more intuitive interfaces and increased user awareness all account for the increasing dominance of the app model for mVoIP. In addition VoIP specialists are broadening their horizons as they explore the potential of alliances with social media, gaming and software companies. As social media becomes ever more mainstream, Juniper Research anticipates the role of voice within the broader communications market changing and becoming available as an extension of other applications, such as gaming and social networking. Specialist companies, such as Vivox, are pioneering these new services in the gaming industry, and Skype’s acquisition by Microsoft and several F...

Worldwide personal computer (PC) shipments increased by 3.6 percent in the third quarter of 2011 (3Q11) compared to the same quarter in 2010, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation ( IDC ). The results are up slightly from the 2.7 percenet growth experienced in 2Q11, and just below IDC's August projections for 4.5 percent growth in the quarter. The Americas and EMEA were slightly below expectations while the Asia-Pacific markets were slightly ahead. The market continues to struggle as consumer discretionary income is diverted to other areas and business spending remains depressed in light of other priorities and a potential double-dip recession. "For the moment, PCs have taken a backseat to a range of other devices competing for shrinking consumer and business budgets," said Jay Chou, senior research analyst at IDC. While growth is expected to stay in mid-single digits in the fourth quarter, IDC expects to see faster growth in 2...

I'm eagerly awaiting my review copy of a new book entitled "Managing Content Marketing: The Real-World Guide to Creating Passionate Subscribers to Your Brand" by Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi. This book builds on the foundation of "Get Content, Get Customers" that Joe Pulizzi co-wrote with Newt Barrett at the outset of the content marketing phenomenon, back in early 2008. Today, I'm sensing that savvy marketers everywhere are ready to move their budgets away from under-performing advertising, to something that's potentially more appealing to their customers. Yes, it's about time. eMarketer reports that with the average cost-per-lead increasing -- and too many marketers competing for the same buyer's attention -- traditional tactics are no longer enough to influence the sale. Business-to-business (B2B) companies are looking to content marketing as a way to proactively boost their return on investment. “Informative, nonpromotional content i...

According to the latest market study by Juniper Research , annual revenues derived from eNewspapers that are delivered to portable digital devices will exceed $1.1 billion by 2016 -- with publishers increasingly adopting subscription-based applications to counteract their falling print publication sales. The Juniper market study noted the surge in Apple iPad adoption led a number of newspaper publishers to move beyond standalone smartphone apps towards more integrated digital media strategies. Companies such as News International have begun offering a single subscription price enabling access to The Times across all digital platforms. It observed that transitioning to a paywall-based model would almost certainly result in a substantial decline in the digital media user base. Despite this, for many publishers the revenues that accrued from a moderate user base paying a modest subscription charge would outweigh the initial loss of CPM (cost per mille)-based advertising rev...

Recent findings from a survey of U.S. smartphone and tablet owners indicate that tablet ownership increases the frequency of mobile shopping, improves the purchase experience -- and makes people who own both devices use their smartphone more often. The study revealed that tablet ownership increases mobile purchase frequency, with owners of tablets (as well as smartphones) buying nearly twice as often as those who only have smartphones. Further, more than 40 percent of these “dual owners” made more than 20 mobile purchases over the past year. Nearly two-thirds of dual owners indicated higher overall spending due to their mobile purchasing activity. “Dual owners have the classic markings of early tech adopters, including skewing high-income and male,” says Todd Board, SVP of Ipsos OTX MediaCT . “That said, our study clearly suggests that owning both a smartphone and tablet can positively reinforce mobile shopping and spending habits.” “We are starting to see more retailers t...

comScore released the results of a new market study that analyzes how cross-platform consumption has created a vastly different landscape -- as people utilize a growing number of devices to consume digital content. They analyzed the impact that these shifting consumption habits are having on media site visitation and engagement across the Internet. “The popularization of smartphones and the introduction of tablets and other web-enabled devices have contributed to an explosion in digital media consumption. As these devices gain adoption, we have also seen the rise of the ‘digital omnivores’ -- consumers who access content through several touch-points during the course of their daily digital lives.” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile. In order to meet the needs of these hyper-active digital media consumers, advertisers and publishers must learn to navigate this new landscape so they develop cross-platform strategies to effectively engage their audiences. K...

The market for fourth-generation (4G) wireless devices continues to shift and evolve, as expectations are being reset and planned network upgrade deployments proceed slowly. Shipments of 4G smartphones are now expected to grow from 4.6 million in 2010 to 245 million in 2016. LTE smartphone shipments will surpass WiMAX smartphones in 2011 -- growing at a 72 percent CAGR over the forecast period. Michael Morgan, senior mobile devices analyst at ABI Research , says, “Nearly all of the world’s mobile operators, including the largest, are supporting LTE. It is an important driver for the LTE ecosystem that dwarfs any other drivers of 4G in general or of WiMAX and LTE, specifically.” 4G smartphones are emerging as the next major platform opportunity for mobile operators, device OEMs, IC vendors, network equipment vendors, and content companies. Despite the growing number of 4G-capable device segments, smartphones will remain the largest and most important device segment for in...

Led by a growing demand for media tablets -- and more specifically the Apple iPad 2 -- an estimated 37 million ultra-mobile devices (UMDs) will ship into the United States during 2011. UMDs represent mobile computing devices on a continuum bordered by laptop or notebook  PCs and smartphones. The UMD category consists of four segments: ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs), mobile Internet devices (MIDs), netbooks, and media tablets. The revenue value from vendor shipments of UMDs into U.S. sales and distribution channels during 2015 is forecast to reach $24 billion. About 75 percent of total UMD shipments in the U.S. market during 2011 are expected to be media tablets. “While the near-term opportunity is all about media tablets, no UMD segment type has ever sustained a lead for longer than 36 months in any part of the world,” says ABI Research group director Jeff Orr. Is the next mobile device trend, beyond the introduction of new low-cost media tablets, on the horizon? Will it...

According the the latest worldwide market study by eMarketer, 2010 brought a welcome return to growth after the devastating global economic recession. The expectation was that this year would continue this positive trend, but in several major markets -- including the U.S. and UK -- the onset of a second recession is casting a dark shadow over mainstream marketer and advertiser outlooks. Economic turbulence will typically impact advertising spending in a negative way. But global advertising spending will still approach $500 billion this year, eMarketer estimates, and digital advertising will remain strong -- following a 2010 upswing, in which growth in online ad spending outpaced all other platforms. eMarketer forecasts that North America will continue to draw the greatest share of online advertising spending of any region -- with over 40 percent of the worldwide total. The Western European share of online spending will decline as emerging markets in Asia-Pacific, Latin ...

comScore released data reporting the key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending August 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.3 percent market share. Google Android continued to gain ground in the smartphone market reaching 43.7 percent market share. For the three-month average period ending in August, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.5 percentage points from the prior three-month period), followed by LG with 21.0 percent share and Motorola with 14.0 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 9.8 percent share of mobile subscribers (up 1.1 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 7.1 percent share. 84.5 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months...

Today, high-definition (HD) video capabilities are a standard option in many types of consumer electronics (CE) devices. Once considered a feature that was available only in the expensive high-end products, HD video technology is now truly pervasive -- rapidly spreading throughout the industry. As an example, last year there was a dramatic increase for High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connections in portable consumer devices -- including consumer-oriented HD video camcorders and digital still cameras (DSC). In addition, within the personal computer segment, the HDMI interface applications in mobile PCs, graphics cards, and PC monitors continued to increase as consumers become more familiar with the benefits of the interface standard. HDMI supports, on a single cable, any uncompressed TV or PC video format, including standard, enhanced, high definition and 3D video signals; up to 8 channels of compressed or uncompressed digital audio; a Consumer Electronics Control (CEC...

During the past year there has been significant growth in both the usage rates of in-flight broadband internet access and number of planes deployed with the capability. As new providers enter the emerging global market, growth is sure to continue in the coming year. Additionally, what has to date been predominantly a U.S.-centric market began to see an expansion of borders -- with deployments in Europe growing over the past year and new activity in the Middle East. According to the latest market study by In-Stat, they now forecast that in-flight Wi-Fi revenues will surpass the $1.5 billion mark in 2015. “While airlines initially viewed in-flight broadband as a competitive differentiator, it is now simply viewed in the U.S. market as a competitive requirement,” says Amy Cravens, Senior Analyst at In-Stat . The future of in-flight Wi-Fi will be less about convincing airlines of the merit and more about leveraging the network to provide a broader breadth of services. As ...

As broadband subscriptions continue to grow in the European Union (EU) countries, Point Topic has forecast that related pay-TV adoption is set to treble by 2020. “We’re projecting just over 160 million broadband subscribers in the EU27 by 2020 -- and just over one in three will take an IPTV subscription,” says Oliver Johnson, CEO at Point Topic. According to their latest market assessment, IPTV adoption in Europe has been very different in countries where it is deployed. The success of IPTV depends primarily on two factors. Firstly is it available, not only the physical network but at a price the consumer can afford? Where the cost and the link are suitable, is there demand for IPTV -- as seen in France? However, in many markets not only are cost and availability significant barriers but the incumbent pay-TV service providers are well entrenched. Many of the European markets, particularly in the East, have developed their own multichannel TV delivery systems over cable n...

Wi-Fi connectivity has taken on new meaning within the connected home, as more IP-enabled consumer electronic devices reach the marketplace. Meanwhile, broadband service providers and retailers are introducing Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities in all types of social venues and in-store surroundings. Expect to find Wi-Fi availability in more places, used in a variety of new applications, during 2012. In the first quarter of 2011, worldwide revenue for the Wi-Fi network equipment market remained relatively flat compared to Q1’11 -- staying at $1.6 billion, according to the latest market study by In-Stat . Continuing a trend, 802.11n remains the fastest growing Wi-Fi technology with shipments rising 17 percent from the previous quarter, while revenues grew nearly 7 percent. “In terms of total unit shipments, TP-LINK is number one, leading the way with a 26 percent market share,” says Brad Shaffer, Analyst at In-Stat. NETGEAR has overtaken D-Link for the number two spot with ne...

  I'm not who you think I am. Yes, I write about the very latest mobile device technology and the growth of mobile internet usage. But I don't use my mobile phone to send text messages or to access the internet -- it's just for making and receiving voice calls. Truly, I've yet to find the one application that convinces me that I "personally" really need a smartphone. Very soon, that scenario will make me part of a rapidly shrinking segment within the American consumer population. By the end of this year, eMarketer estimates that 38 percent of U.S. mobile users will have a smartphone and 41 percent will use the mobile internet at least once each month. According to their latest assessment, that adoption translates into an increase in the opportunity for mobile advertising -- and more ad spending. Frankly, if there's anything that's sure to dissuade me from joining the ranks of smartphone users, it's the thought of being subjected to th...

In a few years from now, the perceived need for physical media formats could become a mere novelty, as more multimedia consumption moves online. Until then, there's the continued debate about the future of the Blu-ray Disc format. The name Blu-ray Disc (BD) refers to the blue laser used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than possible with red laser technology used for DVDs. It's not new technology. The first prototype Blu-ray Discs debuted in October 2000, and the first prototype player was released in Japan in April 2003. Its evolution and development continued until it was officially released in June 2006. According to the latest market study by In-Stat, they now forecast that the number of Blu-ray player units shipped will reach 105 million in 2015. “DVD players and recorder shipments will decline over the next five years for most regions. By 2015, DVD recorders will be essentially phased out entirely, with only negl...

Two technologies that are positioned to help mobile network operators (MNOs) cope with growing volumes of video traffic will need to improve their market penetration over the next 12 months -- to ensure their place as long-term options for mobile offload, according to the latest market study by Heavy Reading . "Athough only 9 percent of wireless customers are using their devices for video at any given time, that group is generating 38 percent of mobile data traffic," says Tim Kridel, research analyst with Heavy Reading. To avoid running out of capacity -- and, more importantly, retain service profitability -- some vendors and MNOs are looking to offload up to 20 percent of video traffic using IMB, eMBMS or both. Although eMBMS and IMB are best known for their video capabilities, it's a mistake to pigeonhole them in that role. Kridel adds "Assuming that eMBMS, IMB or both ever become widely adopted, wireless carriers might be drawn to products that use...

According to the latest market study by MRG, Inc. , small and independent Pay-TV operators will introduce Multi-screen Video (MSV) and Mobile TV services by 2014 -- after they introduce infrastructure upgrades and whole-home DVR. Those findings are based upon the results of a survey sent to over 600 telecom network service providers and video systems vendors. “All of the elements, from adaptive bit streaming to the widespread adoption of the tablet and smartphones to licensing rights, are in place for multi-screen to be a standard part of many operators’ offerings within the next 3 years,” said Ken Pyle, Analyst for MRG, Inc. Because multi-screen uses OTT (Over-the-Top), where video content can be watched on many smart devices both inside and outside of the home, MRG believes that this is why and how multiscreen service will start -- and how quickly TV Everywhere will likely develop. Due to the fast acceptance of iPads and iPhones, and because to their common UI and OS, ...

ComScore released data showing that 180 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in August for an average of 18 hours per viewer. The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in a record 6.9 billion viewing sessions. August marks the first month of rankings for comScore YouTube partner reports, for a comparison of viewership across thousands of channels. The data also revealed that video music channels VEVO (60.6 million viewers) and Warner Music (30.9 million viewers) assumed the top two positions. Gaming channel Machinima ranked third with 17.7 million viewers, followed by Maker Studios with 10 million, Demand Media with 8.4 million and Revision3 with 6.6 million. Within the top 10 YouTube partners, TheGameStation demonstrated the highest engagement with 76.5 minutes per viewer on average. Machinima was a close second on average engagement at 72.6 minutes per viewer, while accounting for the second most videos viewed (289 million) after VEVO. Interestingly, ...

Across the globe, the increasing demand for wireline broadband Internet access creates the need for additional network infrastructure, and the associated modem and/or router devices that are installed at the subscriber location. In 2Q11, 39.8 million broadband customer premise equipment (CPE) units shipped, a 5.6 percenet increase from the previous quarter and a 13.9 percent increase from the same quarter last year. Total revenues were $1.49 billion, a 3.1 percent decrease from the previous quarter -- and that's down 1.4 percent from last previous year, according to the latest market study by In-Stat . “In terms of overall unit shipment market share growth, TP-LINK continues to gain market share, growing over 20 percent, while NETGEAR also gained that amount,” says Brad Shaffer, Analyst at In-Stat. Pace and Cisco Small Business also experienced market share gains from the previous quarter. In-Stat's latest market study insights include: SOHO (small office...

We know that the internet is a source of consumer product information and guidance, but how are marketers helping B2B decision-makers . According to the latest assessment by eMarketer , buyers investing in high-cost complex product or service purchases require extensive research and consideration. Typically, these buyers will search for meaningful content online, select a short-list of vendors and solicit peer advice -- in order to finalize their purchase decisions. That said, survey findings from TriComB2B and the University of Dayton School of Business Administration suggest that these buyers are now using their smartphones to gather purchase information. In fact, their market study revealed that 59 percent of B2B purchase decision-makers and influencers had used a smartphone to gather information -- indicating there's a significant group of buyers seeking content sources such as websites, catalogs and insightful blogs. But data indicates few product and service vendor...