New Independent Study Highlights Differences in How and Why Adults and Youth Share Online
Adults Depend on Email as Source of Shared Content; Younger
Generation Embraces Instant Messaging, Social Networking, Video
Sharing and Text Messaging
Sharing Gives Marketers Greater Insights Than Search
SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--
A new study by Forrester Consulting commissioned by ShareThis, the
sharing network that makes it simple and easy to share any online
content, reveals new insights into what different segments share
online, including how and when; the obstacles to sharing; and why the
data about what people share is increasingly important for
advertisers, publishers and marketers.
Sharing has grown in influence with the rise of tools and sites
such as Digg, Delicious, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, FriendFeed, text
and picture messaging, and instant messaging. Sharing has grown in
importance in building online communities and for also providing
tremendous insights into what matters to different groups.
According to the Forrester study titled: "The Ins and Outs of
Online Sharing" showed that overall, adults still depend on personal
email as a main source of receiving shared content: in fact 69 percent
still rely on email to share content and information. Whereas, youth
tap multiple channels of shared content for new information. Personal
emails made up 56 percent of shared content received; however, more
than 50 percent of youth use instant messaging, videos from YouTube,
and wikis to share content, while notes on social networks and text
messages on cell phones equates respectively to 30 percent and 41
percent for how this demographic receives information.
The study also highlights a new group that has emerged as sharing
has grown in influence. 'Power Sharers' are a new category defined as
individuals that share content at least weekly and share with 11 or
more people through at least one channel. Adult Power Sharers
represented 35 percent of the online population, and Youth Power
sharers make up 62 percent of the online population, showcasing how
each of these groups feed the viral cycles and influence networks.
-0-
*T
The study highlights:
-- How important and influential sharing has become - Direct personal
channels amongst people have greater trust than public channels
such as news alerts or RSS feeds; 92 percent of adults trust an
email from someone they know, while 70 percent trust messages
through someone they know through a social site.
-- That sharers differ in intensity, channel and motivation
-- Content differs by sharer and by gender
-- Shared content sources such as video sites like YouTube, a wiki, or
social networking sites have grown in importance as channels of
sharing and recommendations
-- What obstacles to sharing people face and how to eliminate them
-- The power of the sharing category to marketers
High level findings:
-- Email is still primary channel for sharing -- 69 percent of adults
cite email as the primary source of receiving information
-- Less than one-third of online adults said they learned about the
new content from generally shared content sources such as YouTube,
a wiki, or social networking sites
-- 64 percent of adults and 60 percent of youth still use the
traditional cut and paste method to share a URL or information
-- However this is not trackable by publishers, making sharing by
email tough to measure
-- Though the primary motivation for sharing differs, 81 percent of
adults claim that, when cutting and pasting content to share, they
share to help others - believing that a person will benefit from
the information they share
Further Breakdown:
-- Overall, youth share more information online than adults, and rely
heavily on socially shared content
-- Video content is shared twice as much amongst online youth than
adults, with 60 percent noting they received information
through an online video site such as YouTube
-- Web tools such as wikis are used by 53 percent of youth vs. 29
percent of adults, with webpage services such as 'tags' being
shared by 31 percent of youth vs. only 16 percent of adults
-- Online youth share more content types than adults (with the
exception of news articles). In particular, 73% of online youth
shared peer-generated video, versus 39% of online adults
-- The motivation for sharing amongst men differs than those of women
-- In general, men are more likely to share something to appear
cool or to look like an expert
-- Men more likely to share product recommendations and video than
women; 77 percent of adult males and 74 of younger males shared
news and web links
-- Women are more likely to share products or ideas they like via easy
or direct sharing methods
-- Women strongly favor send to a friend feature; more than 60
percent of adult woman use the send to a friend feature on
websites
-- Women are more likely to share directly, especially via cell
phone texting
-- Adult women tend to face more obstacles when trying to share
content online, with 40 percent saying they could find no ways
to share the information directly from the Web page
*T
"Communities are built on sharing ... word of mouth is the best
advertising. Harnessing the data from what is being shared amongst
groups is the next frontier and provides insights for marketers that
go beyond what's possible from search," said Tim Schigel, CEO and
co-founder of ShareThis. "ShareThis believes there is huge potential
for communities to become even more connected through the simplicity
of one-click sharing while helping publishers realize the benefits of
all the great sharing data."
ShareThis allows media to become truly social, with the click of
just one button. The second you discover something, you can
immediately share it in any way you want. No more cutting and pasting
paragraphs or links, with ShareThis, simply select who you want to
share with and send it directly from the page via email, IM, Facebook,
or mobile. ShareThis also brings together all your address books,
communities, and friends lists in one place so that you can easily
send, post, bookmark, rate, recommend and tag.
ShareThis is a distributed network that uses the popular ShareThis
button that can be deployed on any site to drive traffic, stimulate
viral activity, and track the sharing of content. ShareThis also
simplifies social media services by reducing clutter on web pages, and
providing instant distribution of content across social networks,
affiliate groups, and communities. ShareThis will be announcing major
partnerships with leading publishers, blogs, and content providers
over the coming weeks.
About the Research
In the spring of 2008, Forrester Consulting conducted an online
survey of 2014 US online adults and youth to understand what content
they shared, through which channels they shared, and how frequently
they shared content.
In this study:
-- 400 respondents were youths -- males or females aged 13 to 17
years old.
-- 1,614 respondents were adults -- males or females aged 18 or
older.
-- Each respondent must have shared content through at least one
channel.
-- Online moms - females that have children under 18
-- PowerSharers - people who shared content at least weekly and
share with 11 or more people
About ShareThis
ShareThis lets people easily share the things they find online, in
the most convenient way possible. ShareThis consolidates address books
and friend lists, so that anything can be shared immediately, without
even leaving a webpage.
ShareThis's exceptional management team comprises industry leaders
with experience gained within international media, marketing and
technology companies including: Advertising.com, AOL, and Nielsen
Buzzmetrics. Visit www.sharethis.com for more information.
For ShareThis
Julie Smith, 917-923-0570
Julie@sharethis.com
or
Jessie Wixon, 212-905-6044
Jessie@outcastpr.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
