In a study that could have ramifications on how we think of both online worlds including MMORPGs and online titles like FarmVille, researchers at UB School of Management have found that users return to subscription-based games when there is an appearance of a constantly changing environment full of like-minded team members and a sense that the characters are virtual representations of the user. → Read More
A study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that even with all of our Facebooks, Twitters, and Wi-Fi dongles, 25% of us “have no one to discuss important matters with.” What’s more, those lonely people prefer minority-endorsed products over majority-endorsed (Mr. Pibb v. Pepsi, Android v. iOS).
The researchers Jing Wang, Rui Zhu, and Baba Shiv began their study, called “Social isolation… → Read More
“[P]iracy is better conceived as a failure of affordable access to media in legal markets.” So says the just-released Media Piracy in Emerging Economies study, which looked at the hows and whys of piracy in countries like Brazil, India, Mexico, and Russia. Shocking, right? → Read More
Deloitte, the multi-faceted professional services company that’s perhaps best known for its annual Football Money League study, says that 2011 will be the year that computers stop being computers. The agency says that more than 50 percent of all “computing devices” sold this year will be non-PCs. You know, things like tablets, smartphones, and the like. So not only are the days of big, hulking… → Read More
Are you suggesting we raise a generation of super-kids? Even if you are, know this: we may be raising a generation of super-kids, but we’re also raising a generation of kids who don’t know how to tie their shoes. New research, from the University of Southern California, shows that today’s kids are able to do any number of “technological” things, like playing video games or tweeting their… → Read More
How about that, all of this technology is killing us. That’s what researchers at University College London have said, in so many words, in a recent study that tracked screen users’ health (“screen users” being a catch-all term for people who do anything screen-based, that is, use a computer, watch TV, fiddle with their iPhone, etc.). It turns out that people who sit in front of a computer (and… → Read More
Reasonably interesting study coming out of Duke University that says that digital video recorders (TiVo and the like) do not negatively affect television advertising at all. That flies in the face of conventional wisdom, wisdom that says TiVo and its ilk have destroyed the TV business forever. Well, that’s just not the case. → Read More
Shocking study coming out of the University of Minnesota that says Wii Fit won’t get you into shape, despite what you may think. Well, to be specific, the study says the game won’t produce “significant changes in daily physical activity, muscular fitness, flexibility, balance or body composition.” → Read More
There’s a pretty interesting report that was just published today entitled “How much information?” It was put together by the Global Information Industry of the University of California at San Diego. It looks at the year 2008 and tries to quantify how much information the average American consumes across all forms of media: TV, newspaper, Web sites, radio, you name it. When you crunch all the… → Read More
Proving once again you can find a study to prove almost anything, a report came out today showing that Redbox will bring down the movie industry by continuing with their $1 a night business model. Sounds like some sour grapes to me. → Read More
I’m sure you’ve heard that song from that play called “The Internet is for Porn.” Turns out, it is! Researchers from the University of Montreal were trying to determine to habits of men in their 20s vis-à-vis pornography, but they ran into a problem: they couldn’t find enough men who said they didn’t watch porn! Men are dogs, et cetera et cetera. → Read More
Good news, everyone. All this Internet use may be slowing the onset of dementia. So says, sorta, a recent UCLA study that I’m sure every media outlet, including this one, has oversimplified. The study looked at a group of 55-78 year-old, half of whom never use the Internet, then told ‘em to go home and do a few Web searches. The findings, again, wildly oversimplified, suggest that the brain is… → Read More
So, hotshot, you think just because you follow 300+ people on Twitter, thanks to Tweetdeck, that you’re some sort of super-duper Information Age sage? Slow down, because a recent study, coming out of Stanford, says that multitaskers are no better at processing or retaining information than single-minded non-multitaskers. If you’re trying to process and retain information, then, best to stick to… → Read More
We’re all pirates because of DRM. That’s the conclusion of a new UK study—and it’s a long one, coming in at 200+ pages—. The idea here is that the DRM schemes imposed by rights owners do just as good a job at restricting people who have legitimate claims to the material as it does restricting those without any claim at all. → Read More
We’ve all heard of “sexting,” when teens send nude photos of themselves to each other via text message (well, MMS). Schools don’t like it, parents don’t like it, but, apparently, it’s all the rage among young people these days. Well, it turns out that sexting really isn’t that big of a deal; it’s merely a continuation of the age-old tradition of “exploration” and all that. A 2009 version… → Read More
Are you a Digital Collaborator? A Media Mover? Or maybe you’re a fearsome Ambivalent Networker? No idea what these phrases mean? (Good!) They refer to the level of technological integration in a person’s life. Someone’s who’s a Roving Node is really adept at using one piece of technology in their life—this is the type of person who e-mails all day long, and knows how to do nothing else. At… → Read More
A new study confirms the obvious: the young are watching less and less TV, spending their time using the Internet and playing video games instead. The study, carried out by Deloitte, shows that the older one gets, the more TV one watches. People in the 14-25 age group (that’s me!) watch, on average, 10.5 hours of TV per week. → Read More
Well this is shocking news. Apparently some 18 percent of HDTV owners can’t tell the difference between high-def programming and standard-def programing when viewed on their screens. That’s what Leichtman Research Group concludes based on a survey of 1,302 households. That’s a telephone survey, mind you; there’s some controversy surrounding that type of poll these days. → Read More
A study in the small Dutch town of Hengelo is conducting field research by the University of Twente to determine if a new type of concrete can reduce acid rain. Concrete paving stones are laced with photosensitive titanium dioxide. When used to pave highways, the additive reacts with sunlight and the nitrogen oxide particles emitted by car exhaust, thereby forming nitrates. The testing is being… → Read More
Flickr’d No day is complete without some sort of Comcast-bashing; I oblige. A German study has found that BitTorrent blocking really only occurs in two countries, here in the U.S. and in Singapore. Moreover, only cable ISPs bother to block BitTorrent traffic. The ISPs? Why, none other than Comcast and Cox, the two darlings of American Internet access. → Read More
We’ve been saying for awhile that violent video games aren’t bad for kids, and now we’ve got research from Harvard to prove it. They spent nearly one and a half million dollars in four years following the habits of 1,200 kids. As it turns out, violent games are a good way for kids to relieve stress and it doesn’t roll over to real life in most cases. So it’s OK to let… → Read More
I could watch John McEnroe flip out all day long. Perhaps one of his most famous tantrums erupted during Wimbeldon in 1981 when a serve of his was called out. McEnroe argued that he saw a puff of chalk dust when the ball hit the ground, a sign that it hit the line. While the world may never know whether it was truly in or out, a recent study in a British journal has shown that in 2006 and 2007… → Read More
A new study by Rubicon Consulting finds that most iPhone users are very satisfied with their purchase that the most popular application is e-mail. 75% of iPhone users claim to do more mobile web browsing and many are disappointed by the limitations of Mobile Safari. The study also found that 50% of iPhones replaced standard cellphones and that the iPhone was the first phone for 10% of users. Want… → Read More
[photopress:pmphearing.jpg,full,center] Teens don’t give a damn about losing their hearing as a result of listening to their portable media player too loudly. That’s the conclusion of a Dutch study published in the March Journal of Pediatrics, which says that kids willingly crank their PMPs to the loudest volume level despite knowing how harmful it can be. The researchers suggest users… → Read More
At my previous place of employment, I found myself in a puzzling predicament. I’d been given an underpowered desktop machine hooked up to a 17-inch CRT monitor and told to get to work managing projects and updating stories for highly-trafficked news web sites along with various other tasks involving a plethora of open desktop windows. I quickly became that guy at the office — every… → Read More
[photopress:ipodthefturb.jpg,full,center] Steal this player It’s real simple—if you don’t wanna get robbed, don’t walk around bad neighborhoods with the standard iPod earbuds on. You’re just asking for trouble. I don’t see what’s so hard to understand about that. A recently released study from a DC think tank kinda suggests that iPods may be responsible… → Read More
Having spent a few hours “playing” Second Life (research, mind you), I definitely noticed a disconnect between the hype and what I actually experienced. To boil it down to two words—it sucked. Now there’s a real-life study from the Yankee Group backing up my complaints. In a nutshell… • The average SL user only logs on for 12 minutes per month • Growth has… → Read More
I’m sure plenty of you are still excited about the iPhone, but when the end of June rolls around, will you buy one? It’s not looking likely according to a recent Markitecture poll. Out of 1300 people surveyed, only 6% said they were “likely to purchase the iPhone” when it comes out. The reason? Mostly the price and having to deal with a contract/specific carrier. Ouch! → Read More
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