Email, portals stay ahead of social networking—at least on mobile devices

AUGUST 13, 2010

Social networking has become such a staple of online activity in the US that, according to Nielsen, internet users spent more time on social networking sites and blogs than doing any other activity in June 2010. Games, which came in second, took up less than half as much time.
On the mobile internet, however, more traditional activities still reign. Email dominated the mobile picture even more strongly than social networking did the desktop: If all time spent on the mobile web was condensed into a single hour, US internet users would have spent 25 minutes in June checking email. Portals would have received another 7 minutes, with social networks not far behind.

Nielsen reported that social networking has been closing the gap in time spent on the mobile internet, gaining share since last year as portals dropped in importance over the same period.
But email remains one of the most popular mobile internet activities not just by time spent but also by penetration. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 34% of all US mobile subscribers used email on their phone in May 2010, compared with 23% who used a social networking site.
comScore also reported mobile email usage via a browser ahead of social networking. That research found search had the highest penetration of any mobile browsing activity, but search is less time-intensive than email or social sites.

Social should continue to make gains in the mobile realm, however. comScore reported it was the fastest-growing mobile internet activity between 2009 and 2010, rising 80% in usage, while email grew more slowly. Bridge Ratings predicted in June that mobile social networking would grow twice as quickly as email during the next 12 months.
The growing penetration of smartphones will be a key factor in increased mobile social networking. According to comScore, 53% of smartphone users participated in social networking activities on the go, compared with just 11% of feature phone owners.
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Everywhere-Access Key to Paid Music Models

After a decade of declining revenues, the US recorded music industry is more determined than ever to reverse its sagging fortunes and return to the luster of the 1990s.

eMarketer forecasts that US consumer spending on digital music will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.04% in the next four years, reaching $4.56 billion in 2013, up from $3 billion in 2009. All of this growth will come from the online segment, which comprises track downloads, full album downloads, music videos, digital kiosks and subscription services.

“eMarketer expects the tipping point between physical and digital formats to occur sometime in 2010,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the report, “Paid Music Content: The Answer Is Blowin’ in the Cloud.”

Paid music services are starting to shift their focus away from selling downloads and instead concentrate on granting users paid access to content—including the music libraries they already own. Apple, far and away the market leader in the digital music industry, has seen its iTunes ecosystem slow in growth, while cloud-based initiatives gather steam.

The idea behind cloud-based music is to allow users to store collections on remote servers and access the content on all connected devices: computers, smartphones, netbooks, tablets, e-readers and game consoles.

“While the first generation of US digital music services was predominantly download-based, the next iteration is likely to be based around subscription models,” said Mr. Verna. “US consumers are growing accustomed to accessing digital content on remote servers via Web browsers. Extending this paradigm to music files is a logical step, and one that content owners are determined to make work.”

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The full report, “Paid Content: The Answer Is Blowin’ in the Cloud” also answers these key questions:

• What is the revenue outlook for paid music content online and via mobile?
• How will cloud-based computing play into the music industry’s plans in the coming decade?
• How do Internet radio and music video fit into the digital music sales cycle?

To purchase the report, click here. Total Access subscribers, log in and view the report now.

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Check out today’s other article, “Android Surges Among Handset Purchasers.”  

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