Bloggers and Twitter users love guessing about new high-tech devices and last week, they were busy discussing what the new iPhone would look like and whether Facebook would jump into the smartphone business. On YouTube, many users saw video of a gruesome crime.
Lee Rainie was the morning keynote speaker at the Society for Scholarly Publishing’s conference on May 31, discussing how people use technology to gather, share, and create information.
Overall adoption remains steady, but “typical day” usage continues to grow. 8% of online adults now use Twitter on a typical day. African-Americans, young adults, and mobile users stand out for their high rates of Twitter usage.
The Facebook IPO was a hot topic on blogs, Twitter and Facebook last week with doubts about the stock’s value exceeding bullishness on the investment. And the topics of conversation—which ranged from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s wedding to co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s citizenship—varied by social media platform.
Game mechanics like rewards and feedback loops are gaining ground in digital life and many experts think they will spread widely to key domains like education and health by 2020. Others worry about a darker side.