A study from the Pew Internet & American Life project reports that online social networks are playing a larger role in people's lives. Despite fears that the Internet weakens social ties, the report suggests the opposite is true. The study concluded that people are turning to others in online social networks mainly for:
* Assistance on important life-changing decisions.
* Expert advice from others to help them sort through their options at stressful moments in their lives.
* Information that allows them to compare and cross-check their options.
Source:Pew Internet & American Life project, "The Strength of Internet Ties".
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Nearly half (42%) of consumers will click on an email containing to find online video content and 29% will "occasionally" spread the word about a video they saw. Those are some of the key findings in a new report from the Online Publishers Association about the demographics of online video consumption.
With the ever-increasing popularity of viral clips, the data also showed that word of mouth is the main vehicle for consumers to share online video with each other:
* 44% forward an email with a link to the video
* 31% use a site's "tell a friend" option
* 31% talk about the video over the telephone
* 7% post a link on their blog
Source: Online Publishers Association, "From Early Adoption To Common Practice: A Primer On Online Video Viewing".
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When it comes to spreading word of mouth, offline communication still far outweighs the Internet. In a study from GfK NOP, face-to-face contact was cited by 80% of general consumers as the main way they give recommendations to each other. For influencers, that number was even higher at 90%.
The telephone was the second most popular medium for word of mouth at 68%. Surprisingly, email was mentioned as the key medium for less than half of consumers:
* Personal email -- 37%
* Email forwarding -- 32%
* Mass emails -- 12%
Source: GfK NOP, "NOP World Word-of-Mouth Study".
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