Mobile Access 2010
Six in ten Americans go online wirelessly using a laptop or cell phone; African-Americans and 18-29 year olds lead the way in the use of cell phone data applications, but older adults are gaining ground.
Bloggers were sharply critical of Google last week, accusing the internet giant of shifting its position on a key online policy. Meanwhile, a column arguing against a mosque near the site of Ground Zero drew plaudits. On Twitter, a baseball mishap made the roster of top stories while the No. 1 YouTube video had Boy Scouts booing Barack Obama.
The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico became a hot topic in blogs and on Twitter last week, with the discussion focused on a range of storylines. At the same time, two subjects that had generated little attention in recent weeks—the economy and the war in Afghanistan—also drew significant interest. On YouTube, a Congressman’s angry response to being filmed drew almost 2.5 million views.
Text messaging rises sharply among teens and is now their most frequent form of communication with friends; 72% of those ages 12-17 now are texters and the average young text user exchanges 1,500 texts per month.
Groups of bloggers amassed to decry two separate controversies last week: reported rule changes to the board game Scrabble and the declaration that April would be Confederate History Month in Virginia. On YouTube, politics were unusually popular, with three separate congressional videos leading the list. And Twitterers remained fascinated with the iPad.
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