Growth in the mobile subscriber base has changed the way enterprise customers go about conducting their business, opening huge opportuniteis in the Enterprise mobility market, says a new Market Research report. The idea of anytime-anywhere connectivity is becoming a reality as business executives, irrespective of their location, are realizing the importance of being connected.
Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are enabling mobile workers to communicate directly with customers in the field instead of reaching their office computers.
Business executives are using their personal mobile devices of for business purposes. Enterprise mobility is being adopted to enhance work productivity and reduce their costs on mobile workforce management. Mobility is part of the information technology strategy of many enterprises.
The increasing mobile subscriber base and improved telecommunication infrastructure in terms of robustness, providing reliable connectivity anytime and anywhere, and the overall increase in network coverage are the major drivers for enterprises to adopt mobility solutions.
The growing acceptance from large and Small & Medium Businesses, and introduction of sophisticated mobile devices such as smartphones, PDAs, and handheld devices are other driving factors that will fuel the enterprise mobility market in the coming years.
The emerging markets of Asia-Pacific and other regions, and increasing demand for unified communications (UC) are expected to maneuver the market for enterprise mobility in the near future.
There is a huge opportunity in bringing various types of mobile and wireless technologies to the global workforce. Underserved mobile workers across the geographies would benefit from the flexibility and reach provided by mobile enterprise solutions.
Despite the fact that some impediments bother the widespread adoption of this novel concept, the enterprise mobility market holds enormous potential for deploying innovative mobility solutions.
First identified in 2008, it would appear nomophobia – the fear of being out of mobile phone contact, is sharply increasing in the UK – and likely everywhere, considering the way many people seem to have their mobile phone attached permanently to their hands.
A recent survey of 1,000 people in employment, conducted using OnePoll, discovered two thirds of respondents fear losing or being without their mobile phone. The study, sponsored by SecurEnvoy – which provides tokenless two-factor authentication, reveals that 41% of people interviewed, in an effort to stay connected, have two phones or more.
When asked if they’d be upset if a partner looked at the messages and texts on their phone almost half said that they would.
Digging a little deeper, more women worry about losing their phones than men – 70% of the women surveyed compared to 61% of the men, yet it is men that are more likely to have two phones – scoring 47% and 36% respectively, perhaps in an effort to stay connected.
When split by age it is the younger age group (18 – 24) that are more nomophobic at 77%, with the 25 – 34 age group second at 68%. Perhaps a little more surprisingly is that third most nomophobic are the 55 and overs!
“The first study into nomophobia, conducted four years ago, revealed that 53% of people suffered from the condition and our study reveals this has now risen to 66% in the UK and shows no sign of abating. A reversal on the 2008 findings is that, back then, it was men that were more afflicted yet today it’s women. I’d be inclined to draw the conclusion that, perhaps because more men have two phones, they’re less likely to misplace both and therefore be left phone-less,” said Andy Kemshall SecurEnvoy CTO and co founder. “There is another study into mobile phone use that found people check their phones, on average, 34 times a day so it wouldn’t take long for you to realise if you’d misplaced your device.”
Another interesting revelation from this study is that, with 49% of people getting upset if their messages and texts were viewed by a partner, they’re still lax at securing these devices.
Nearly half use no security protection
Forty-six percent do not use any protection at all; 41% use a four pin access code; and just 10% encrypt their device. A security conscious 3% use two factor authentication. Andy suggests, “With 58% of the respondents using at least one device for business use, this lack of security is a worrying trend that needs addressing.”
“What this study does highlight though,” concludes Kemshall “is the extent that people now rely on their mobile phones. At SecurEnvoy we have certainly seen a huge spike in demand from local government and the private sector looking to turn their staff’s phones into security devices, where they can use SMS tokenless®two factor authentication to access data securely and easily whilst on the move.”
Social media trends are evolving as I write. Convergence, the “cult of influence,” social television, and what seems like a new major player in the social media field every month, among them.
I just joined Pinterest, latest of the hot social startups out there (so, we hear, did Facebook founder/CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He’s been active on the new site for about seven weeks. He liked a colorful photo of lemons and his three pins include the movies “Bridesmaids” and “Moneyball.”
I found Pinterest useful right away, perhaps because a handful of my Facebook friends who already share numerous interests with me are already on the site and pinning away.
I’m finding Google+ useful for insight into tech, marketing, social media, and other topics, although it is a less personal social site for me, at least. Facebook, of course, remains the mainstay of actual social interaction with friends for me. How about you?
Twitter always steers me to a browser bar full of links that interest me, but again, it is as useful to me professionally, or more so, than it is personally. It is continually interesting to see how some celebrities use Twitter, though. For a while, movie director Kevin Smith, who has a new show called “Comic Book Men,” made Twitter almost a second career for a while. You may recall his dustup with an airline that removed him from a flight for being too fat.
I haven’t gotten into social TV much yet, but it’s obviously coming down the media superhighway at high speed, whether people use connected sets or second screens.
The average employee will spend 12% of the working day using unproductive applications, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Only 59% of the day is spent using applications, which are deemed productive. This amounts to 65 hours a month, which have not been used productively, according to data analyzed by DeskTime.
Of course, DeskTime has a dog in this hunt.
The data demonstrates that after a month of using a time tracking system, the productivity of an employee increases by 15%. When considering this data it must be understood that the employees have access to the collected time-tracking data, that is, they see which applications they use and they see the amount of time spent productively, unproductively, and neutrally.
Personally, we use social networks as part of our job. We’ve also seen studies that show that allowing employees some social networking time actually increases their productivity, so we’re not sure it’s a cut and dried equation of time on Facebook equals time lost.
The company created this infographic to illustrate its findings:
Looking back to the 1950s, the way Americans got their news was pretty simple – it was either their local newspaper or one of the three nightly newscasts.
Today, there are a myriad of ways to get news – online news sites, on one’s phone, cable television, blogs, and, still local newspapers and nightly newscasts. But with all these different choices, do people trust that each will get them the news fairly and accurately? Overall, the answer is yes. And online news sources are as trusted as local papers, which are the most trusted sources.
When we look at trust in general, majorities of Americans (between 60% and 73%) say they trust seven different media outlets to get them news fairly and accurately.
But the difference is in how much trust they have; while three-quarters of U.S. adults (73%) trust their local TV news, less than one-quarter (22%) have a lot of trust in it and half (51%) have some trust. Seven in ten Americans (69%) trust their local newspapers, but only 18% have a lot of trust.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,016 adults surveyed online between January 16 and 23, 2012 by Harris Interactive.
Looking at some other media seven in ten Americans trust radio and Internet news and information sites (69% each) to get them news fairly and accurately, but for both, only 14% have a lot of trust while over half (55%) have some trust.
Just over three in five trust cable TV news (64%) and network TV news (61%) but, for both, only 15% say they have a lot of trust in them and three in five (60%) trust national newspapers, with 16% having a lot of trust.
Fair and unbiased news
While the different types of media are all looked at in a mostly positive light, there are some mixed results when we look at specific media outlets. Three in ten Americans say that ABC (63%), NBC (63%), CNN (61%), the Associated Press (59%), and PBS (59%) all give news that is fair and unbiased all the time or occasionally.
But, like with the media in general, the public leans towards occasionally, rather than all the time as three in five (28%) say PBS is fair and unbiased all the time, while just one in five says the same for the other four media outlets.
Over half of U.S. adults say FOX News, (54%), Yahoo News (53%), MSNBC (52%) and CNBC (52%) provide fair and unbiased news all the time or occasionally, and half say the same about The Wall Street Journal (50%) and Time (50%).
Just under half say The New York Times (48%) and Reuters (48%) provide news that is fair and unbiased; about two in five say the same about The Washington Post (42%), NPR (41%), Newsweek/The Daily Beast (39%) and one-third about the Huffington Post (33%).
But, it’s not that these on the lower end of the list are not trusted, it is, rather, that they are not as well known so many more Americans do not have an opinion of them one way or another.
Fox, Huff Post, MSNBC seen as less fair & unbiased
If we look at those who are seen as rarely or never giving news that is fair and unbiased, over one-third (36%) say that applies to FOX News, while three in ten say MSNBC (31%), Huffington Post (31%), CNBC (29%), The New York Times (29%), The Washington Post (29%), and Newsweek/The Daily Beast (29%).
In this election year, Americans will be getting their campaign information from these various media outlets. In that vein, it is interesting to note that out of the 17 different media outlets, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think that 15 news providers are giving them news that is fair and unbiased. Republicans are only more likely than Democrats to think that about two news providers – FOX News (75% vs. 39%) and The Wall Street Journal (51% vs. 50%).
So What?
Like everything else, the media is a business that needs to make money and show investors profits. And, as the number of news outlets continues to grow, providers of information are increasingly out to one-up each other as the first with that information. The large number of news providers also means that the providers have to find new, and sometimes sensational, ways to get eyes and ears to their outlet.
TABLE 1TRUST IN TYPES OF MEDIA
“How much trust do you have that each of the following will get you the news fairly and accurately?”
Base: All adults
TRUST
(NET)
A lot of
trust
Some
trust
DO NOT
TRUST (NET)
Not very
much trust
No trust
at all
Not
sure
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
Local TV News
73
22
51
23
17
6
4
Radio
69
14
55
25
19
7
6
Internet News and information sites
69
14
55
26
19
7
5
Local Newspapers
69
18
51
27
19
8
4
Cable TV News
64
15
49
30
21
9
6
Network TV News
61
15
46
35
20
15
4
National Newspapers
60
16
45
34
22
12
6
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding;
TABLE 2TRUST IN TYPES OF MEDIA – BY PARTY AND GENERATION
“How much trust do you have that each of the following will get you the news fairly and accurately?”
Percent saying “A lot of trust/Some trust”
Base: All adults
TRUST
(NET)
Generation
Political Party
Echo
Boomers
(18-35)
Gen X
(36-47)
Baby
Boomers
(48-66)
Matures
(67+)
Rep.
Dem.
Ind.
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
Local TV News
73
68
77
77
72
70
83
72
Radio
69
65
71
73
67
72
74
66
Internet News and information sites
69
66
68
73
66
66
78
6
Local Newspapers
69
67
70
72
63
62
82
67
Cable TV News
64
56
68
67
71
64
72
62
Network TV News
61
62
57
63
59
47
79
61
National Newspapers
60
64
58
61
52
46
77
60
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding;
Experts once predicted that telecommuting would be the norm by the early 21st century, but employer mistrust of unmonitored workers is delaying the dreams of American employees, 80% of whom would like to work from home, according to recent survey data from WorldatWork.
Though the number of workers who call home their primary workplace jumped by over 60 percent from 2005-2009, says Telework Research Network, this translates to only 2.8 million employees.
However, that figure does not include home-based businesses, which accounted for another 3.1 million workers in 2008, or employees who worked from home at least one day a week, which accounts for another 20-30 million workers.
I’ve been primarily a teleworker for many years, with the exception of the year and a half it took me to convince a state magazine to let me leave their expensive office and work from mine, which was considerably more sophisticated anyway. In fact, that sophistication – dual monitors, multiple computers, even a much better desk chair, helped convince management to let me return to my home office. Within weeks, my supervisor noted productivity increases.
I still work from that home office turning out the TechJournal. In our digital era, it seems counter-productive to have a writer, editor, or any number of other communications and technology workers take up company office space.
With social media, teleworkers even have their own verion of the water cooler and lunch conversation nowadays. But it can still be a challenge to convince managers that it is the best option, increases productivity, and saves money, energy, and the environment.
Typical teleworker described
“Part-time teleworkers include millions of mobile workers (“road warriors”) who charge a lot of business expenses to their credit cards,” said Charles Tran, founder of CreditDonkey.com, a consumer credit card comparison and education site that today published an infographic tracking telecommuting trends. “What’s more, 10.3 percent of small business owners use credit cards to help finance their start-ups.”
Tran noted that the typical teleworker is a college-educated 35- to 54-year-old, non-union employee working in telecommuting-compatible professions such as accounting, graphic design, engineering, computer programming, journalism/copywriting, administrative support or customer service. At least 40% of the U.S. workforce (52 million people) holds telework-compatible jobs.
According to research compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau and Telework Research Network, among the potential benefits of telework:
Nearly 6 million people considered their home their principal place of work. Of which, 53% were home-based business.
Half-time telecommuting
Half-time telecommuting (2.4 days per week) would reduce current U.S. imports of Gulf oil by 45 percent annually, saving $22 billion.
If all Americans with telework-compatible jobs worked from home half-time, it could prevent 95,000 traffic-related injuries and deaths each year.
Companies would save $525 to $665 billion per year, thanks to reduced real estate, turnover and absenteeism costs, as well as increased employee productivity.
More than 66 percent of companies that permit telecommuting have reported increased productivity among teleworkers.
“Despite the bottom-line benefits, it’s mostly the larger companies (those with 100+ employees) that are hopping on the telework bandwagon,” says Tran. “In the long term, it’s inevitable that many more jobs will be done at home, but in the near term, the spirit is willing, but employer trust is weak.”
British singer Adele with her multiple GRAMMY awards
If anyone needs more evidence that social networks and mobile apps are changing the way we consume media on an almost weekly basis, here it is: THE 54th ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS set a new social TV record with more than 13 million social media comments. That topped the recent record set by the 2012 Super Bowl last week and 25 times bigger than 2011. (Source: Bluefin.)
In addition, the GRAMMY Live iPad App was the #1 Free Entertainment iPad App on Sunday as viewers downloaded the app for exclusive access to live videos, blogging, tweets, official news and behind-the-scenes GRAMMY cams.
Online and across mobile platforms, more than 1 million unique viewers tuned into GRAMMY Live, a three-day online and mobile event from CBS.com and The Recording Academybuilt to draw excitement for the live broadcast on Sunday night.
“We wanted to go all out this year in creating a second screen experience that was going to help us drive excitement and tune-in for the awards, as well as give viewers access to content and videos that added another element to the broadcast,” said Marc DeBevoise, SVP and GM of CBS Interactive’s Entertainment and Lifestyle Division.
“The interplay between Twitter, Facebook and GRAMMY Live created a real-time water cooler effect as evidenced by the huge numbers we’re seeing across all social media platforms.”
“Across the board – online, mobile and social – we saw huge increases in the interaction people had with this year’s GRAMMY Awards,” said Evan Greene, Chief Marketing Officer for The Recording Academy.
“We’re thrilled that our efforts to engage people in the show paid off both in terms of how much activity we saw across all the interactive platforms, as well as the GRAMMY’s telecast’s significantly increased viewership.”
THE 54th ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS delivered more than 39.9 million viewers, the largest GRAMMY audience since 1984 and the second largest in history, according to Nielsen updated live plus same day ratings for Sunday, Feb. 12.
National survey results show that nearly 30 percent of survey participants believe their cell phone is more helpful to them than their significant other, according to Asurion , which sells technology protection services.
Reasons frequently given by the 3,000 survey respondents include that the cell phone is more entertaining than their significant other, they appreciate that the cell phone has an off button and that the device never talks back.
Additionally, the survey found that nearly half of all respondents have sent a “risque” text message to their significant other.
Men and women were nearly equally as likely to have sent a “risque” message (50 percent vs. 48 percent respectively).
“While the content of the communications might vary wildly among users, there’s no doubt mobile devices are now the primary way people stay in touch with their significant other,” said Bettie Colombo, spokesperson for Asurion.
“In fact, our survey found people under the age of 34 average 20 texts or calls a day to their significant other while those age 50 and over text or call an average of nine times a day.”
Other surprising survey results included nearly 20 percent of respondents saying they would not end a date even if the person they were with spent the entire night on the phone.
However, women of all ages – as well as men and women ages 50 and over – said they would end a date early if the other person spent the event texting.
Personally, we find it extremely difficult to focus on a “significant other” who is continually talking to “significant others” or texting them during a date.
Mobile devices are playing a critical role in the entertainment research and planning process for a majority of smartphone and iPad users, according to a new study by Greystripe, the world’s largest brand-focused mobile ad network and a division of ValueClick, Inc. (Nasdaq:VCLK).
The study, which Greystripe conducted on its network, revealed that 53 percent of smartphone users and 27 percent of iPad users search for movie listings, times and locations on their devices.
Good news for film studios
This is good news for film studios, which can now target movie marketing directly at consumers on the go, looking for films to watch.“Not only are mobile users going to the movies frequently, they are using their mobile devices at every step of the process, from learning about new movies and watching trailers to scouting times and locations, finding the theatre and even completing the process with a purchase.”
The study also finds that participants are using their smartphones and iPads to discover new movies, interact with movie ads, watch trailers, and purchase tickets and DVDs.
Greystripe collected data from 546 users on its network of iPhone, iPod Touch, Android and iPad devices during a one-month-long period from November 1, 2011 to November 30, 2011 to better understand how mobile users are interacting with their smart-devices to research, discover, plan and pay for entertainment.
The study found iPad and touch smartphone users are a key movie-watching demographic, with 39 percent and 41 percent, respectively, watching movies over four times a year.
According to the study, the most common entertainment-related mobile activities for iPad and smartphone users are viewing movie times, locating theaters and watching mobile trailers. These actions are all performed most commonly using a native app, not on the mobile web.
Greystripe also found that mobile videos are capturing the attention of participants with approximately half of smartphone and iPad users, 56 percent and 45 percent respectively, saying they are most intrigued by video ads.
In addition, a majority of smartphone and iPad users, 69 percent and 59 percent respectively, said they watch movie trailers on their mobile device.
The study also uncovered the critical role advertising plays in entertainment-based decisions made by mobile users, with advertising emerging as the top format for new movie discovery and decision-making:
65 percent of smartphone users and 67 percent of iPad users find out about new movies from advertising
52 percent of smartphone users and 44 percent of iPad users decide which movies to see based on movie advertisements
Of the users who base their movie decisions on advertisements, 67 percent of smartphone users and 58 percent of iPad users have interacted with entertainment ads on their respective mobile devices
“Mobile is an essential platform for any movie advertiser looking to grab the attention and interest of frequent moviegoers,” said Jim Zarley, CEO of ValueClick. “Not only are mobile users going to the movies frequently, they are using their mobile devices at every step of the process, from learning about new movies and watching trailers to scouting times and locations, finding the theatre and even completing the process with a purchase.”
Some mobile users are going a step further and utilizing their smartphones and iPads to make purchases, with 15 percent of smartphone users and 13 percent of iPad users purchasing movie tickets on their mobile device. Furthermore, 10 percent of smartphone users and 13 percent of iPad users purchase DVDs on their mobile device.
Have you had bad experiences on Facebook or other social networks? Several of our friends temporarily departed Facebook after users stalked them with threats, but on the other hand, another managed to raise money to pay members of an orchestra doing a Mahler concert solely from Facebook friends.
The overall social and emotional climate of social networking sites (SNS) is a very positive one where adult users get personal rewards and satisfactions at far higher levels than they encounter anti-social people or have ill consequences from their encounters.
A nationally representative phone survey of American adults finds that:
85% of SNS-using adults say that their experience on the sites is that people are mostly kind, compared with 5% who say people they observe on the sites are mostly unkind and another 5% who say their answer depends on the situation.
68% of SNS users said they had an experience that made them feel good about themselves.
61% had experiences that made them feel closer to another person. (Many said they had both experiences.)
39% of SNS-using adults say they frequently see acts of generosity by other SNS users and another 36% say they sometimes see others behaving generously and helpfully. By comparison, 18% of SNS-using adults say they see helpful behavior “only once in a while” and 5% say they never see generosity exhibited by others on social networking sites.
At the same time, notable proportions of SNS users do witness bad behavior on those sites and nearly a third have experienced some negative outcomes from their experiences on social networking sites.
Some 49% of SNS-using adults said they have seen mean or cruel behavior displayed by others at least occasionally. And 26% said they had experienced at least one of the bad outcomes that were queried in the survey.
Those bad outcomes were:
15% of adult SNS users said they had an experience on the site that ended their friendship with someone.
12% of adult SNS users had an experience that resulted in a face-to-face argument or confrontation with someone.
11% of adult SNS users had an experience on the site that caused a problem with their family.
3% of SNS-using adults said they had gotten into a physical fight with someone based on an experience they had on the site.
3% of adult SNS users said their use of the site had gotten them in trouble at work because of something that happened on the site.
In addition, 13% of adult SNS users said that someone had acted in a mean or cruel way towards them on a social networking site in the past 12 months.
Adults are generally more positive and less negative than teens about the behavior of others and their own experiences on social networking sites.This survey of adults was conducted in order to compare adult experiences on social networking sites to teenagers’ experiences. The Pew Internet Project reported the teen findings in November 2011.1
As a rule, more adults than teens reported positive results on SNS. For instance, a higher proportion of adults than teens say their experience is that people are mostly kind on social networking sites.
And significantly smaller proportions of adults have had bad outcomes based on their SNS use such as confrontations, lost friendships, family strife, and fights. Overall, the two surveys show that 41% of SNS-using teens have had at least one of the bad experiences we queried, compared with 26% of the SNS-using adults.
When they see mean or aggressive behavior on social networking sites, adults are more likely than teens to ignore it and not get involved.Compared with teen SNS users, adults are somewhat more likely to stand back, not get involved, and ignore the offensive behavior. For instance, 45% of adult SNS users who have witnessed problems say they frequently ignore offensive behavior online, compared with 35% of SNS-using teens who say they frequently ignore offensive behavior.
Some 34% of adult SNS users say they never confront the person being offensive, compared with 21% of SNS-using teens who never take that step. Some 29% of adults who have witnessed problems never defend the person or group being attacked, compared with 19% of teens who never take that action.
At the same time, adults who have seen harassment on SNS are a bit less likely than teens to say they join in the harassment that they see occurring on social networking sites.
Some 19% of teen SNS users said they at least occasionally join in the mean and offensive behavior that is being directed at another SNS user, compared with 15% of adults who say they join in at least occasionally.
Interestingly, there is a split when it comes to the behavior of men and women when they see a people acting meanly on a social networking site. Men are more likely to ignore a problem they see on a social networking site and women are more likely to respond.
26% of SNS-using women will frequently tell a person to stop attacking someone on a social networking site, but only 19% of SNS-using men will do that frequently. At the same time, 41% of men say they never tell someone to stop harassing another person on a social networking site, while only 29% of women say they never take action when they see a problem unfolding.
Similarly, 28% of SNS-using women say they frequently defend a person or group that is being harassed or insulted, while only 19% say they will frequently do so. At the same time, 33% of SNS-using men say they never defend a person or group that is under attack on a social networking site, compared with 25% of women who say they never defend someone under attack.
Minorities, women, parents, and Millennials are most likely to witness offensive material on social networking sites.
Asked how frequently they see language, images or humor on SNS that is offensive, 73% of SNS-using adults said they encountered such offensive content or language only once in a while or never. There were several groups, though, that were more likely to encounter such material:
42% of black SNS users said they frequently or sometimes saw language, images or humor on SNS that they found offensive, compared with 22% of white SNS users. In addition, 33% of Hispanic SNS users said they encountered such material that often, notably higher than whites.
34% of Millennial generation SNS users – those ages 18-34 – said they frequently or sometimes saw language, images or humor on SNS that they found offensive, compared with 17% of SNS users in GenX (those ages 35-46). Even smaller percentages of SNS-using Baby Boomers and retirees said they had encountered such material.
29% of women SNS users said they frequently or sometimes saw language, images or humor on SNS that they found offensive, compared with 22% of men.
29% of SNS users who are parents with minor children said they frequently or sometimes saw language, images or humor on SNS that they found offensive, compared with 24% of nonparents.
–additional comments are by TechJournal Editor, Allan Maurer. (Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com).
Eight hundred million Facebook users can’t be wrong, but they appear to be an increasingly cautious lot.
“Our Social Media Habits survey offers compelling insights into consumer behavior and attitudes, especially given the conventional wisdom how we value – or don’t value — privacy in the social media space”
Indeed, while users of popular social media sites are generally comfortable with the sites and visit them regularly, they also have serious reservations about privacy and security on the social web – recent efforts by site operators to address those concerns notwithstanding.
These are among the top findings of the “Social Media Habits and Privacy Concerns Survey,” a new nationwide study by uSamp (www.uSamp.com), a leader in providing targeted audiences for global consumer insights and innovative SaaS technologies for audience engagement and business intelligence.
Using SurveyBuilder™ (www.surveybuilder.com), its self-serve survey authoring platform with on-demand consumer audiences, uSamp surveyed nearly 600 adult men and women about the social media sites they frequent and the kind of information they share online.
The good news for IPO-bound Facebook especially is that more than 80 percent of all social media buffs log on to the site. The uSamp survey found that nearly twice as many respondents of all ages (and both genders) used Facebook as any other destination on the social web. The nearest competitors were YouTube (46 percent of respondents), Twitter (33 percent) and MySpace (32 percent).
But the study also showed that Facebook and other sites face real challenges in the months and years ahead as user concerns over privacy and security grow. While 65 percent of respondents said they were generally comfortable with privacy protections on social media sites, they nonetheless expressed specific concerns about privacy risks.
“Our Social Media Habits survey offers compelling insights into consumer behavior and attitudes, especially given the conventional wisdom how we value – or don’t value — privacy in the social media space,” said Lisa Wilding-Brown, uSamp’s Vice President of Global Panel and Sampling Operations.
User privacy a dynamic area
“User privacy is an enormously dynamic area, and even as site operators attempt to address the issue, consumer perceptions are slow to change. Using SurveyBuilder, we were able to both create a comprehensive survey instrument and tap uSamp’s vast online panel of survey respondents rapidly – the same kind of performance our clients are experiencing as they get hands on with this powerful new platform.”
Privacy has long been a thorny issue for Facebook and other social media sites. In its SEC filing for its IPO, Facebook referenced the word “privacy” 35 times. Some observers suggest that such concerns might prompt users to reduce their use of social media sites, or stop visiting them altogether. Yet another worry for Facebook and other social media destinations: the coming explosion in smartphone and tablet access may pose even greater security and privacy risks.
While 64 percent of respondents said they were either “very comfortable” or “somewhat comfortable” with the level of privacy protection on social media sites, 28 percent expressed some level of discomfort about privacy protections. And among those who don’t use social media at all, 73 percent cited privacy concerns as their rationale for not participating.
Some 85 percent of respondents said that individual users should bear primary responsibility for their own privacy, but fully 75 percent agreed that social media sites themselves should also assume responsibility for privacy protection.
The Demographic Divide
On matters of social media usage and security/privacy, the uSamp Datapoint survey also found significant differences among both genders and across age groups.
Women of all ages were generally more worried than men about both privacy and personal security. While women are just as willing to provide personal information about their relationships, jobs, brand preferences and political and religious affiliations as men, when it comes to the nitty-gritty – details like phone numbers, email and physical addresses that might jeopardize personal security — women are significantly more wary than men.
Interestingly, the study found that three-quarters of both men and women were willing to share their relationship status, but only 20 percent of women would share their location, while 35 percent of men would part with that information. And although 55 percent of men don’t mind revealing their email address, only 42 percent of women would do so.
The survey also found that different age groups expressed varying levels of comfort about privacy. While more than 70 percent of both men and women under 35 said they were either “very comfortable” or “somewhat comfortable” with privacy protections, only 54 percent women and 56 percent of men from 35-49 and 57 percent of women and 45 percent of men over 50 felt “very comfortable” or “somewhat “ comfortable with privacy protections.
Not surprisingly, the study found younger respondents were heavier users of social media than their elders, with 86 percent of the 18-24 age group visiting social media sites daily.
There were, however, intriguing differences between genders and age groups in how social media sites are used. Older women were found to be heavier users of social media than older men – 60 percent of women over 50 visited sites daily while only 37 percent of men in the same age group were daily visitors. And 63 percent women from 35-49 visited daily while only 57 percent of men checked in every day.
The study also found that women over 35 were more likely to use Facebook than men in the same age group.
During the widely watched live telecast of Super Bowl XLVI, smartphones did not live up to expectations as a second companion screen to the football watching experience, according to leading market research company The NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence SmartMeter, which tracks consumer use of smartphone applications, websites, communications, and content services.
Football apps, such as those from ESPN and the NFL, showed a downward trend compared to the playoffs two weeks ago. Conversely, NFL.com showed a significant spike in traffic, once again disputing the common claim that apps are now dominating the market at the expense of the web.
Notably, neither the Giants’ nor Patriots’ apps showed significant usage during the game and were not in the top sports apps on Sunday.
“While the overall smartphone apps market did not match the overly-ambitious hopes of many, the use of both apps and websites still show a significant reliance on the smartphone as a second screen,” said Linda Barrabee, research director, NPD Connected Intelligence. ”But it is clear that these apps still have a long way to go to become an invaluable part of the Super Bowl experience.”
Consumers did rely on their smartphones for easy access to game-related information. This was punctuated by an increase in NFL/Super Bowl-related searches on Google properties, which represented 6.4 percent of total searches on Game day, and up nearly 4-fold from the two Sundays prior.
Advertisers Fair Better
While the football-related applications experience was a mixed-bag of success, Super Bowl advertisers enjoyed more success.
“The clear standouts for the advertisers were the Shazam and Chevy Game Time applications,” said Barrabee. “Both had strong ad placements relatively early in the game, and – even more importantly – both had strong tie-ins to the ongoing entertainment that helps to drive their use. Shazam’s use by smartphone users on Super Bowl Sunday, for example, was more than the combined use of the app for the previous two Sundays.”
Websites also saw a spike in smartphone traffic. The major highlights were Samsung, Cars.com, GoDaddy and Volkswagen. Again, it is notable that the GoDaddy website out-performed the company’s promoted application, although the margin was relatively small between the two.
“Overall, smartphone use is heading in the right direction and usage during these key events is growing. But the content providers need to work harder to build compelling solutions that truly target the needs of consumers in a multi-screen environment,” said Barrabee.
“The most compelling example of the power of smartphones came not from the application or website use, but from the thousands of smartphones that provided a backdrop to the half-time show by Madonna.”
*The NPD Connected Intelligence SmartMeter is an application running on Android and BlackBerry devices leveraging an opt-in panel of consumers. The SmartMeter tracks data consumption, as well as function and content use. This includes web and application use across 23 categories including search, social networking, shopping, banking, games, navigation, health, music, and video.
More students taking advantage of classes offered via the internet and the opinions of teachers and administrators regarding online education are changing as well, according to PETAP.
According to a report entitled “Going the Distance – Online Education in the United States, 2011″ published by the College Board and the Babson Survey Research Group, over 6 million students are currently taking at least one class online.
This number indicates that almost one-third of higher-education students in the U.S. are now taking at least one course over the internet, over 560,000 more than in 2010.
The report data also demonstrates a significant shift in the way teachers and school administrators feel about online programs. In 2011, 67% of academic professionals polled were of the opinion that online classes can be equally as effective as face-to-face classes. In 2003, only 50% responded this way.
Therefore, as more institutions are offering classes online, those working in the industry are becoming more open to the idea. While two-thirds of educators believe online education is a worthwhile pursuit, only one-third believe otherwise and many of them work in institutions that do not offer online learning options.
It is important to note that many of these educators teach curriculums that are not conducive to online studies. Chemistry and art for example often require physical interaction from students, making it difficult for these subjects to be taught online effectively.
Others, however, such as business administration, lend themselves to the platform of online education because of how crucial online interaction is in today’s business world. Subsequently business administration is commonly one the most popular online degree programs pursued, along with online degrees in nursing and online criminal justice degrees.
There are several factors believed to have an effect on the overall shift in the mentality of educators.
However, the most common is the technological capabilities now available to teachers and students, making it possible to achieve a highly interactive, educational experience, much like they could in a traditional classroom. The computers, tablets, and smartphones available, along with the ever-evolving software capabilities and network options, make online degree opportunities too convenient to ignore.
The statistics prove that perceptions regarding online education are beginning to shift, including those of educators, along with the fact that new online degree programs are popping up all over the place. Degree programs can be found in virtually every area of study, and PETAP.org makes it easier than ever to read about available programs and make a truly educated decision.
PETAP.org offers complementary no-obligation information pertaining to campus based and online schools, creating an education plan, and career testing for those looking to take advantage of online learning.
As sweethearts make plans for their sweeties this Valentine’s Day, they would be wise to think about buying electronics instead of traditional gifts for the women in their lives. According to a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Women in CE, electronics are a desired purchase among both sexes.
“Forget pink. Women don’t want to be catered to with ultra-feminine looking products; they simply prefer lightweight devices that can fit smaller hands and smaller body frames”
The new study found that women’s interest in technology has increased in the years since CEA’s 2007 The Truth About Women and Consumer Electronics study, with eight in 10 women now expressing an interest in CE products and nearly half of those (41 percent) saying they were “very interested” in CE. This is an increase of 10 percentage points over the previous study.
Men continue to outspend women on overall CE purchases, but the gap between genders is shrinking. On average, men spent $728 on CE purchases in the past 12 months, while women spent $667 during that same time period, a difference of $61.
In the 2007 study, the spending gap between men and women was closer to $200. Women also exert a significant amount of influence in most CE purchases. Six in 10 (61 percent) women initiate or are involved in the process in which a CE product is actually purchased.
Women, however, are far less likely to claim ownership of most CE products. The study shows that women are more likely to consider CE products as “household” products, meaning they consider ownership of the device, such as TVs and DVD players, to be shared with a spouse, partner, roommate or child.
However, when it comes to newer and mobile technologies, such as e-readers, notebook computers and smartphones, women were more likely than men to claim sole ownership.
“This Valentine’s Day, the way to a women’s heart just might be through electronics,” said Jessica Boothe, manager of strategic research, CEA, who oversaw this study. “Women want technology more than ever and they view electronics as very personal devices that can be toted around and customized with private information.”
When shopping for their next CE device, men and women both cite the same purchase factor as most important: price. Ease of use, warranty and multiple functionality are the next most important purchasing factors among both sexes.
Also important to women is product size and weight, something that generally is less of a concern among men. Color ranks near the bottom as a factor among women when buying electronics.
“Forget pink. Women don’t want to be catered to with ultra-feminine looking products; they simply prefer lightweight devices that can fit smaller hands and smaller body frames,” said Boothe. “Women play many roles, like mother, spouse and career women, and CE products that can perform many functions are a necessity.”
The Women and CE study also concluded that women are more likely than men to find that electronics can simplify their life. More than three out of four women (77 percent) say “CE makes life easier,” compared with 69 percent among men. Eighty-four percent (84 percent) of women also agreed that “CE makes it easier to keep in touch,” compared with 78 percent for men.
Facebook gives average users an incredible opportunity to reach a mass audience, according to the latest study by the Pew Internet in American Life Project. It says the average user can reach up to 150,000, and a median user can connect to 31,000 others.
It also found that most Facebook users receive more from their Facebook friends than they give, according to a new study that for the first time combines server logs of Facebook activity with survey data to explore the structure of Facebook friendship networks and measures of social well-being.
These data were then matched with survey responses. And the new findings show that over a one-month period:
40% of Facebook users in our sample made a friend request, but 63% received at least one request
Users in our sample pressed the like button next to friends’ content an average of 14 times, but had their content “liked” an average of 20 times
Users sent 9 personal messages, but received 12
12% of users tagged a friend in a photo, but 35% were themselves tagged in a photo
“The explanation for this pattern is fascinating for a couple of reasons,” noted Prof. Keith Hampton, the lead author of the Pew Internet report, Why most Facebook users get more than they give.
“First, it turns out there are segments of Facebook power users who contribute much more content than the typical user. Most Facebook users are moderately active over a one-month time period, so highly active power users skew the average.
Second, these power users constitute about 20%-30% of Facebook users, but the striking thing is that there are different power users depending on the activity in question.
One group of power users dominates friending activity. Another dominates ‘liking’ activity. And yet another dominates photo tagging.”
Other findings:
Women do more status updates than men.
Users average 7 new friends a month
Few people unfriend from feeds
There is little evidence of Facebook fatigue
Facebook users can reach an average of more than 150,000 Facebook users through their Facebook friends; the median user can reach about 31,000 others.
Tagging Facebook friends in photos is associated with knowing more people from diverse backgrounds and having more close relationships – off of Facebook.
A wide range of activities on Facebook are associated with attending political meetings.
Those who participate in Facebook groups are more likely to try to persuade someone to vote for a specific candidate
With Facebook’s Timeline rolling out to all 800 million users, SodaHead.com, the web’s largest opinion based community, polled its users to get their thoughts on the new design. In a landslide, 70% of poll respondents stated that they did not like Timeline and hoped that Facebook would “lose it.” Only 20% indicated that they liked it, while 10% said that they were not Facebook users.
While 30% of users between ages 18 and 24 like Timeline, only 10% of those over 65 were happy with the new design. When broken down by gender, men and women had exactly the same opinion – 77% dislike Timeline, while 23% like it.
In its recent filing for an initial public offering of stock, Facebook admitted part of its strategy is to “break things” as part of the development process. The Timeline feature may do the job when it becomes mandatory. Now that Facebook has serious competitors such as Google+ just waiting to harvest disgruntled users, it may want to reconsider that tactic.
Here’s an infographic detailing the study results:
In the ten years Ian Jones, founder of mobile app company meet.com, marketed online dating sites from Friendfinder to Match.com, he tried most of them out – without success.
“I didn’t have one successful meeting,” Jones says.
His complaints about the online dating sites echo those of many others – he would discover that the photos the women he contacted had posted were a decade old. Or they sounded great online but didn’t come across so well in subsequent phone conversations.
So, in 2010, Jones decided to do something about that and created meet.com, a mobile app set to launch in March that already has 700,000 pre-joins acquired through affiliates and marketing.
Presenting at SEVC
The company, which has about 20 employees and currently has a single angel investor, will present its business plan at the upcoming Southeast Venture Conference in Tysons Corner, VA, Feb. 29-March 1. The 6h annual SEVC highlights both early and later stage investment opportunities from: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington DC.
What makes it different?
Jones tells us that one of the biggest surprises in setting up his startup firm was the “overwhelming support for the meet.com brand and the growth in the smartphone and mobile app markets.”
The brand name is one of the things that differentiates meet.com from its competitors, says Jones. “It has a much higher response rate than ‘Scout,’ or ‘Blender,’ or ‘Grinder,’ based on our research, he notes.
Another differentiating feature is the way the app will work with Facebook. It allows users to connect via Facebook and even communicate with Facebook friends for free after downloading and installing it.
Jones assures us that the app will have strong privacy and security settings and users will be in control of who they connect with.
Once users communicate with people outside their network, however, a $4.99 a month charge begins via the iTunes or Android market stores.
Jones says the app is initially going to work with the iPhone and Android operating systems with Blackberry coming along a bit later.
There are other mobile apps out there that connect people on the go, but Jones says “Our matching technology is superior, our look and feel is superior, and our privacy settings are superior.”
Jones says he thinks we’ll all be experience a “mobile bubble” that will be much more significant that the dot com boom was in the next few years.
Mobile advantages
Mobile has advantages. People are more willing to pay for mobile apps than they ever seemed to be for online services, for instance. “There is much more acceptance from consumers,” Jones says. “It’s much more common for people to push a button and buy a 99 cent or $5.00 app than it is for them to pull out a credit card and charge $19.95.”
Part of the reason for the increased acceptance on the part of consumers is that it’s more secure than online purchases, he suggests.
“People have their credit cards on file with the iTunes store or Android and there are no charge back issues.”
In terms of dating itself, the immediacy of the way the meet.com app works when people are actually on the go and out and about is a major difference from the stale photos and descriptions on online services.
The U.S. dating services market is a now a $2.1 billion business, with online dating services soaring in popularity since 2001 and representing 53% of the market’s value, according to a recent report from Market Research. But, dating website revenues are expected to grow only 7.5% this year as the U.S. market becomes saturated with 1,500+ sites and free dating sites and competition from popular social networking sites attracts cost-conscious singles, the report says.
In the not too distant future he thinks the prices on smartphones will fall even further, greatly reducing or eliminating any price barriers to consumer adoption.
Meet.com is seeking under $500,000 in an angel round and will present the details of its business plan to investors representing literally billions in capital at the SEVC.
Here’s the company’s video description of its product:
Apple continues to lead Dell and HP in customer service quality for phone-based technical support, but Apple’s support satisfaction among surveyed customers dropped significantly over the past 18 months, according to the latest study conducted by Vocal Laboratories Inc. (Vocalabs).
In telephone interviews immediately following a support call, 54% of Apple customers were “Very Satisfied” with the experience during the last six months of 2011, compared to 44% of Dell customers and 49% of HP customers.
Apple’s satisfaction score is down 19 points from the first half of 2010, while Dell and HP have generally held steady over the past two years.“But where Apple used to be well ahead in nearly every measure of service quality, there are now areas where Apple is tied with, or even behind, its competitors.”
Looking at common complaints in 2011, less than 1% of Apple customers surveyed complained about the language skills of the support technician; much fewer than the 8% of Dell customers and 10% of HP customers with similar issues.
Many customers also complained about the extra cost of out-of-warranty tech support, but Apple saw fewer complaints here, too. About 1% of Apple customers volunteered a cost complaint in this study, as compared to 6% of Dell customers and 6% of HP customers.
“Despite its significant decline, Apple continues to lead our survey in overall tech support quality,” said Peter Leppik, CEO of Vocalabs.
“But where Apple used to be well ahead in nearly every measure of service quality, there are now areas where Apple is tied with, or even behind, its competitors.”
About This Research
The National Customer Service Survey (NCSS) tracks customer service quality in several industries, using telephone interviews conducted with a customer immediately after a customer service experience. Statistics in this press release are based on 4,852 surveys completed between May 2008 and December 2011. The NCSS is underwritten and conducted by Vocalabs, independently of any of the companies covered.
TripAdvisor, Inc.(NASDAQ: TRIP), the world’s largest travel site, says the results of its first-ever 360 degree survey reveals U.S. lodging trends according to those who know them best: travelers and hospitality business owners and managers.
Surveys of more than 1,000 U.S. travelers and more than 600 U.S. hotel representatives shows that Wi-Fi Internet access and breakfast included with booking are king, while a turndown service offers very little value.
Of the travelers surveyed, 54 percent said they have canceled a lodging reservation because they found better amenities at a different property.
We found the results meet our own preferences. We have to have Wi-Fi and those offering it free have a head start with us. Breakfast (and perhaps a paper) would be second. We often don’t require room cleaning and turndown service until we leave.
Top 5 Most Important Amenities to U.S. Travelers
The following chart shows the Top 5 most important amenities according to U.S. travelers who most often book hotels. Additionally, respondents representing hotels gauged how important these same amenities are to travelers. Their answers are displayed below:
Most Important Hotel Amenities
Travelers Who Mostoften Book Hotels
Hotel Owners /Managers
1.
Wi-Fi Internet Access
85%
99%
2.
Breakfast Included with Booking
78%
79%
3.
Guest Loyalty Points
72%
55%
4.
Restaurant
71%
70%
5.
Shuttle Service to Local Attractions/Airport
66%
41%
Top 5 Least Important Amenities to U.S. Travelers
The following chart shows the Top 5 least important amenities according to U.S. travelers who most often book hotels when they travel. Additionally, respondents representing hotels gauged how important these same amenities are to travelers. Their answers are displayed below:
Least Important Hotel Amenities
Travelers Who Mostoften Book Hotels
Hotel Owners /Managers
1.
Turndown Service
87%
83%
2.
Pets Allowed
85%
38%
3.
Spa
79%
75%
4.
Tours/Excursions/Activities
76%
65%
5.
Room Service
72%
49%
Does it Pay to Have Wi-Fi Internet Access?
88% of travelers expect Wi-Fi Internet access to be free of charge in all lodging types
41% of travelers have never paid for Wi-Fi Internet access
65% said they have used free Wi-Fi Internet in an accommodation’s lobby or common areas to avoid paying for in-room access
According to the survey, 93 percent of accommodations report offering some form of free Wi-Fi Internet access to their guests.
“While accommodations generally appear to be in sync with most traveler amenity preferences, our first-ever 360 degree survey reveals that there are a number of opportunities for lodging businesses to shift the focus from some services to others to capture travelers’ attention,” said Christine Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for Business.
“For example, offering complimentary or discounted tickets, recommendations or even a shuttle service to local attractions or a nearby airport may help tip the balance in a property’s favor, especially when you consider that more than half of travelers say they’ve canceled a reservation because they found better amenities elsewhere.”
Total U.S. mobile & social media revenue – including consumer and business access, content, advertising and marketing – increased 30.2% to $45.38 billion in 2011, and us poised for a similar surge this year, according to new data released today by PQ Media (www.pqmedia.com), a provider of media econometrics.
Mobile & social media revenue rose at a compound annual growth rate of 28.7% from 2006-2011, and is expected to grow at an accelerating 30.8% annual rate in 2012, according to the PQ Media U.S. Mobile & Social Media Forecast 2012-16.
“The mobile media sector alone reached the $1 billion revenue mark faster than any communications industry in history in 2008, taking only five years compared with 16 for the internet”
PQ Media for the first time collected, analyzed, defined, segmented and forecast the entire mobile & social media landscape, providing the most comprehensive and detailed perspective on the fastest-growing communications industry segment.
PQ Media identified 3 broad sectors of mobile & social media – mobile advertising & marketing, mobile content & access, and online social media. Within the three sectors, there are seven segments – mobile advertising, mobile marketing, consumer mobile content & access, business mobile content & access, social networks, blogs, and podcasts.
Further, PQ Media identified 44 distinct revenue streams, such as mobile search advertising, mobile coupon marketing, paid mobile video downloads, business data access fees, social network advertising, blog marketing, and podcast business content, among many others.
Mobile content & access was by far the largest industry sector in 2011 with revenue of $39.17 billion, up 27.8%, as the business segment accounted for 58% of the total and the consumer segment, 42%.
Mobile advertising & marketing was fastest growing sector in 2011, expanding 53.7% to $3.39 billion, as the advertising segment soared 60.9% and marketing surged 46.2%. Among the fastest growing mobile ad revenue streams were in-game, search and video.
The marketing segment will grow faster than advertising from 2012-16, fueled by the location-based, coupons and marketing apps revenue streams, according to the PQ Media U.S. Mobile & Social Media Forecast 2012-16.
“The mobile media sector alone reached the $1 billion revenue mark faster than any communications industry in history in 2008, taking only five years compared with 16 for the internet,” said PQ Media’s Quinn. “Mobile will also reach the $100 billion mark in 2015 faster than any other communications industry, driven by several key growth drivers, including strong growth in overall mobile device penetration, the transition to smartphones and tablets, the torrent of new mobile content launches and the continued growth of consumer and business time spent with mobile media.”
Meanwhile, online social media was the smallest sector of mobile & social media in 2011, with $2.83 billion in revenues, but grew at a very strong 42.1%. Social networks was the largest and fastest growing segment by far, increasing 45.9% to $2.28 billion in 2011, according to PQ Media.
Together, mobile & social media accounted for 4.1% of overall communications industry revenue in 2011, up from only 1.3% in 2006. Eleven of the 44 mobile & social media revenue streams exceeded $1 billion in 2011, and 23 will do so by the end of 2016, according to the PQ Media U.S. Mobile & Social Media Forecast 2012-16.
Growth in the mobile subscriber base has changed the way enterprise customers go about conducting their business, opening huge opportuniteis in the Enterprise mobility market, says a new Market Research report. The idea of anytime-anywhere connectivity is becoming a reality as business executives, irrespective of their location, are realizing the importance of being connected.
First identified in 2008, it would appear nomophobia – the fear of being out of mobile phone contact, is sharply increasing in the UK – and likely everywhere, considering the way many people seem to have their mobile phone attached permanently to their hands.
The average employee will spend 12% of the working day using unproductive applications, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Only 59% of the day is spent using applications, which are deemed productive. This amounts to 65 hours a month, which have not been used productively, according to data analyzed by
Looking back to the 1950s, the way Americans got their news was pretty simple – it was either their local newspaper or one of the three nightly newscasts.
Experts once predicted that telecommuting would be the norm by the early 21st century, but employer mistrust of unmonitored workers is delaying the dreams of American employees, 80% of whom would like to work from home, according to recent survey data from WorldatWork.
National survey results show that nearly 30 percent of survey participants believe their cell phone is more helpful to them than their significant other, according to 
Eight hundred million Facebook users can’t be wrong, but they appear to be an increasingly cautious lot.
During the widely watched live telecast of Super Bowl XLVI, smartphones did not live up to expectations as a second companion screen to the football watching experience, according to leading market research company 
More students taking advantage of classes offered via the internet and the opinions of teachers and administrators regarding online education are changing as well, according to 
As sweethearts make plans for their sweeties this Valentine’s Day, they would be wise to think about buying electronics instead of traditional gifts for the women in their lives. According to a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Women in CE, electronics are a desired purchase among both sexes.
With Facebook’s Timeline rolling out to all 800 million users, 
Apple continues to lead Dell and HP in 
TripAdvisor, Inc.(NASDAQ: 
