Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The agreement on tax cuts between President Obama and GOP leaders led to a complex online conversation which revealed deep tensions within one party. The WikiLeaks controversy, a hot topic for the second week in a row, drew a more unified response. And on YouTube, a tragic stunt on live German television drew worldwide attention.
Online political videos In the months leading up to the November elections, 31% of adult internet users went online the watch videos about the candidates or the campaign. This represents a 63% increase from the 19% of online adults who watched political videos in the previous off-year elections in 2006. Both Democratic and Republican voters […]
The social media were galvanized last week by the WikiLeaks dissemination of secret U.S. documents—sharing and commenting on a number of different elements in the story. Twitter users drew even more attention, though, to a major scientific discovery largely uncovered in the mainstream press.
The politics behind the 112th Congress led the online conversation last week as bloggers jousted over the mandate and implications of a GOP-led House. On Twitter, the announcement that Apple was now the second-most valuable company in the world was the No. 1 subject. And on YouTube, an excerpt from a BBC show demonstrated just how endearing polar bears can be.
Summary of Findings The public’s interest in news about the massive anti-government protests in Egypt surged last week, but did not keep pace with the growth in media coverage. About a third (32%) of the public says they followed news about the protests in Egypt very closely last week. That’s nearly double the 17% that […]
For the third time this month, bloggers remained wrapped up in the WikiLeaks affair and U.S. government response. Bloggers also cheered the end the of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. On Twitter, news media predictions for 2011 garnered the most attention. And a shocking event caught live on video drew the most views on YouTube.
The outrage over new security measures at the nation’s airports ran rampant among bloggers, Tweeters, and YouTube viewers. Phrases like “security theater,” “money making scam” and even an animated reenactment of full body x-rays and pat-downs pervaded social media.
On Twitter, meanwhile, this new medium’s election role was clearly defined and considerably different than the other media platforms studied. The social media tool has consistently displayed its organizing and galvanizing capacity in its response to a number of major events—from marshalling support for the Iranian protesters in 2009 to aiding relief efforts after the […]
Overview: The most popular types of groups and organizations The status of Americans’ social ties and the vigor of their communities have drawn considerable attention in recent years, much of it focused on the degree to which the internet, cell phones, and other information and communication devices are affecting Americans’ social lives. To assess the […]