Study: Web 2.0 does not change the couch potato phenomenon
Only a fraction of internet users actively participate in social networking portals. Only 0.16% of all visitors uploaded a video to YouTube, and the statistics are similar for the photo portal Flickr, where an average of just 0.2% of visitors upload a picture. The exception is Wikipedia, where 4.6 percent of all users make an entry.
Only a fraction of internet users actively participate in social networking portals. Only 0.16% of all visitors uploaded a video to YouTube, and the statistics are similar for the photo portal Flickr, where an average of just 0.2% of visitors upload a picture. The exception is Wikipedia, where 4.6 percent of all users make an entry.
These figures were collected in a study by market researcher Bill Tancer from Hitwise.com, as Pressetext.at reports. Despite the low level of participation in participatory websites, they still have enormous appeal. According to Tracer, visits to Web 2.0 sites have increased by 668 percent within two years. According to the Hitwise study, 12 percent of Internet activity in the USA is attributable to Web 2.0 sites, compared to 2 percent two years ago.
However, the study does not question the growth of these sites due to low participation. Much more interesting is the question of the profitability of the highly valued Web 2.0 portals. Traditional media houses and Internet companies are buying Web 2.0 platforms in a race. This is not an American phenomenon: in Germany, the Holtzbrinck publishing group invested around 100 million euros in the purchase of the student portal StudiVZ, according to information from Der Spiegel. However, the portal is not yet making any money. Other portals, such as Myvideo.com or Last.fm, are keeping quiet about their figures - the only thing that is known is that visitor numbers are soaring here too.
These figures were collected in a study by market researcher Bill Tancer from Hitwise.com, as Pressetext.at reports. Despite the low level of participation in participatory websites, they still have enormous appeal. According to Tracer, visits to Web 2.0 sites have increased by 668 percent within two years. According to the Hitwise study, 12 percent of Internet activity in the USA is attributable to Web 2.0 sites, compared to 2 percent two years ago.
However, the study does not question the growth of these sites due to low participation. Much more interesting is the question of the profitability of the highly valued Web 2.0 portals. Traditional media houses and Internet companies are buying Web 2.0 platforms in a race. This is not an American phenomenon: in Germany, the Holtzbrinck publishing group invested around 100 million euros in the purchase of the student portal StudiVZ, according to information from Der Spiegel. However, the portal is not yet making any money. Other portals, such as Myvideo.com or Last.fm, are keeping quiet about their figures - the only thing that is known is that visitor numbers are soaring here too.
