Contenidos generados por usuarios

1. June 2008
digital edge report
Engaging Users:
User-Generated Content
and Tools for Newspapers
A Snapshot of Today and Prospects for the Future
By Greg Martire
Managing Partner
Clark, Martire and Bartolomeo
www.cmbinc.com
NAA Staff Acknowledgements:
Editors: Beth Lawton, Randy Bennett & Sally Clarke
© 2008 the Newspaper Association of America. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior, written
permission of the Newspaper Association of America.

2. June 2008
Engaging Users: User-Generated Content and Web Tools
A Snapshot of Today and Prospects for the Future
By Greg Martire, Managing Partner
Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo Inc.
NAA: Beth Lawton, Randy Bennett and Sally Clarke, editors
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. 2
1. Overview of Results ......................................................................................................... 5
Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 19
2. Types of UGC and User Engagement Tools.................................................................... 20
User comments/reviews ............................................................................................................ 20
Blogs ............................................................................................................................................ 23
Online Photo/video sharing....................................................................................................... 26
Online message boards .............................................................................................................. 29
Social networking ....................................................................................................................... 31
Podcasts ...................................................................................................................................... 34
RSS ............................................................................................................................................... 37
Article Saving & Sharing ............................................................................................................ 39
3. Opinion Pieces.................................................................................................................. 44
4. About the Authors ........................................................................................................... 50

3. Executive Summary
User-generated content (UGC) provides an enormous opportunity for newspapers to grow and
engage new audiences and ultimately drive revenue. UGC represents a wide range of topics and
includes social networking sites, blogs, user-generated reviews/comments, etc., and some experts
expect UGC to grow exponentially in the next few years.
According to Accenture’s April 2007 study of industry executives, the rapid growth of user-generated
content is one of the biggest threats facing the media and entertainment industries. However, with
proper promotion and enhancements, respondents to these surveys indicated they are interested in
engaging with UGC on their local newspaper’s Web site.
NAA has sponsored this research with the goal of better understanding the current role of UGC in
consumers’ lives, as well as the nature of the opportunity. The study was conducted in two phases:
Phase One: Telephone Survey
The first phase, based on a telephone survey of five markets, focused on providing a current snapshot
of the interests and behavior of Internet users in the area of user-generated content generally and on
newspaper sites.
Phase Two: Online Survey
Phase Two, conducted online in the same five markets, involved exposing Internet users to current and
potential user-generated content. It is more forward-looking and explores the potential for growth.
(For methodology details, see p. 21.)
Key Study Take-Aways
• At this time, UGC Web site usage is relatively low, and newspaper Web site UGC usage is even
lower. Usage varies considerably by content type, however even the most popular types of UGC –
user reviews and photo sharing – have been used by less than one-third of Internet users in the
past month.
• Familiarity appears to be the primary barrier for general UGC usage, with only half or fewer of all
Internet users having solid familiarity with even the most popular types of UGC. In addition,
promotion for newspaper Web sites appears to be very limited, as the majority of the Web-enabled
audience is largely unaware of newspaper UGC offerings.
• As a result, UGC is not yet a major driver of newspaper Web site visits. However, after reading
descriptions of specific types of content, UGC is generally considered quite appealing by a large
segment of respondents, and appeal ratings for newspaper Web site content was nearly
equivalent for most tested content types. These findings suggest that UGC could be a significant
draw for newspaper Web sites.
• The Web-enabled market indicates sharply higher usage intent once they are exposed to
newspapers’ current offerings, again suggesting that promotion is key. However, current usage of
UGC on newspaper Web sites is very low, drawing only a small fraction of those using UGC
generally.
• Potential newspaper UGC usage is even higher when the content enhancements respondents find
most appealing are included. This research offers several types of improvements that respondents
2

4. found interesting, with much of these related to specific blog topics and user comments/reviews
options.
Most Appealing Newspaper UGC Enhancements
The following are the content and feature enhancements that respondents see as most appealing for
newspaper UGC among all Web-enabled adults, including those who were previously unfamiliar with
local offerings.
The top tier blog topics earned the most appeal, with approximately 1 in 5 Web-
enabled adults expressing strong interest in news, politics, traffic and weather.
User reviews of restaurants, services and products also garnered interest from about 20
percent of all respondents, as does video feeds from the newsroom and on location.
Top 5 Most Appealing Enhancements
Comments/
Blogs Photo/Video Message Boards
Reviews
• User reviews of • Live video feeds from the • The ability to flag
• News/current events
local restaurants newsroom and on location objectionable posts
• The ability to choose to • The ability to filter out the
• User reviews of
• National politics view photos in a gallery or posts of particular board
local services
slideshow members
• The ability to search for • The ability to hide or view all
• User reviews of
• Traffic/weather photos by user, subject, posts on a given article or
products
date, etc blog
• User reviews of • Forwarding of photos on to • The ability to send private
• Local public affairs
local shops other users messages/comments
• User reviews of • A ranked listing of the Most • The ability to read a short
• Food
movies popular photos profile of each contributor
Social Networking Podcasts RSS Feeds
• Read or post reviews of local
• Local breaking news • World news
restaurants, services, etc.
• Read the profiles of others • Local traffic conditions • Local news
• Post or view personal photo • Reviews of local events or
• National news
galleries restaurants
• Create and post a profile of • Best bets for things to do this
• Technology
myself weekend
• Read or post to a community • RSS Feeds from other sources
• Local entertainment events
calendar besides newspapers
Source: Phase II
The larger opportunity that exists for blogs and user reviews/comments appears to be linked to users’
perceived role of the newspaper Web site. When asked, the Web-enabled market indicated
substantially higher interest in user reviews/guides and blogs when they were offered by their
newspaper Web site. That is, these are content areas where the newspaper brand offers real
advantages.
3

5. Areas of Greatest Opportunity for Newspaper UGC
Opportunities for additional UGC that are especially interesting within a newspaper Web site context
were also tested. Items that generate both a strong amount of interest generally and are preferably
found on a newspaper Web site are those representing the greatest opportunity. Of those tested, the
best areas for growth seem to lie with local guides:
User-edited guides to local businesses and local events generated the highest interest
of all tested features, and being on newspaper Web site has a substantially positive
impact on interest in these features.
Journalist blogs and free downloads of local bands also represent opportunities with a
strong newspaper Web site impact.
UGC Interest vs. Newspaper Site Impact
60
User-edited guides to cal
businesses
HIGHER
User-edited guides to local
% Interested
OPPORTUNITY events
In UGC Type
Extremely/Very/Interested
User comments on articles
written by journalists
Blogs or journals written by
AVG= journalists
Free downloads of music by
31 Photo-sharing features
Article-saving features local bands
User comments on blogs
written by journalists
Video-sharing features
Podcasts
Prizes for users who
Blogs or journals written by Articles written by users contribute popular content
User
Social networking features
User comments on blogs
Article-sharing features Written by
RSS feeds
15
+35
-25 0
Net Impact of Newspaper Site on Interest*
Source: Phase I
* Net Impact = % More Interested in UGC Type if Delivered by Newspaper Site - % Less Interested
4

6. Overview of Results
I. General UGC Familiarity, Usage and Appeal
Familiarity
Though user generated content has become an increasingly popular component of the Internet over
the last several years, the majority of Internet users are still not yet fully conversant with this type of
technology.
When asked about their familiarity with UGC in general and on an unaided basis, Internet users in the
five markets surveyed tend to express relatively low-to-moderate levels of awareness. Just fewer than
1 out of 2 Internet users indicate familiarity with the leading types of UGC. Naturally, familiarity varies
considerably by content type:
• User reviews/comments and photo-sharing garner the highest level of familiarity, with roughly
half of all respondents being familiar.
• On the other end of the spectrum, respondents reported significantly less familiarity with wikis,
video-sharing and social networking Web sites (approximately 1 in 3).
Unaided Familiarity with UGC Types
User reviews and comments on
18% 32% 50%
various web sites
46%
Photo-sharing web site 16% 30%
Message boards or community 42%
16% 26%
forums Extremely/Very familiar
41% Familiar
Blogs and online journals 13% 28%
34%
Social networking Web sites 12% 22%
34%
Video-sharing Web sites 11% 22%
28%
"Wikis" or collaborative, shared
10% 18%
knowledge web sites
Source: Phase I
• Familiarity proves to be somewhat more widespread when respondents are provided a
definition of each type of content. When asked to read a description of each, Phase II
respondents’ familiarity with the tested content types proved to be at least marginally higher.
5

7. Familiarity with UGC Types after Exposure to Concept Description
User reviews/comments 23% 37% 60%
Message boards or community forums 25% 30% 55%
Blogs and online journals 19% 35% 54%
Photo/video sharing 19% 32% 51% Extremely/Very familiar
Familiar
Social networking websites 19% 26% 45%
Podcasts 12% 20% 32%
Article Sharing 6% 14% 20%
RSS Feeds 7% 12% 19%
Article Saving 5% 10% 15%
Source: Phase II
• This effect of exposure to description of each UGC type was most pronounced for message
boards and blogs, both increasing to over 1 in 2 respondents.
Photo/
Comments/ Message Social
Video Blogs
Reviews Boards Networking
Sharing
Unaided Familiarity 50% 46% 42% 41% 34%
Aided Familiarity 60% 51% 55% 54% 45%
% Increase: +10% +5% +13% +13% +11%
• Even with this sizable bump in familiarity, these levels indicate that UGC in general is just not
very familiar to most Internet users. It is also worth noting that the user-generated content
types garnering the least awareness tend to be those most related to specifically news-
oriented content: article sharing/article saving features and RSS feeds are familiar to less than
one quarter of all respondents.
General Usage of UGC Web sites and Features
The following three pages discuss respondents’ usage of UGC in general, not that of newspaper Web
sites specifically. In light of the relatively low levels of familiarity described above, actual usage of UGC
Web sites is reasonably strong. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of respondents indicate that they
have used some type of UGC Web site in the past, and 6 in 10 (59 percent) have done so in the past
month.
Photo sharing, user reviews, blogs and message board Web sites tend to have the
broadest use.
6

8. Social networking, wikis and video sharing are used by a smaller percentage of Internet
users.
General UGC Usage
Ever
68% Average Number of UGC Types Ever Past Month
59% Used: 2.3
42% 41% 39% 37%
29% 31% 29% 28% 26% 24% 24%
21% 19% 19%
Any Photo Sharing Comments/ Message Blogs Video Sharing Wiki/Shared Social
Reviews Boards knowledge Networking
Source: Phase I
Additionally, the vast majority of those familiar with each type of UGC actually use this type of content
with some degree of regularity. More than two-thirds (76 percent) of those familiar with a specific
content type report visiting a Web site that offers this feature in the past month. This reinforces the
notion that UGC usage is limited more by awareness and familiarity than by the quality of the content.
Past Month Use of UGC Type
Among Total
Among Those Familiar
76%
70% 70% 71%
64% 64% 66% 67%
59%
29% 31% 29% 28%
21% 19% 19%
Any Photo Sharing Comments/ Message Blogs Video Sharing Wiki/Shared Social
Reviews Boards knowledge Networking
Source: Phase I
7

9. Most Popular UGC Topics
For both blogs and photo/video sharing, the most widely viewed content types are related to news
and current events. User comments and reviews are used most for researching books, electronics and
movies.
Blogs Photo/Video Comments/Reviews
• News and current events • News or current events • Books
• Personal photos or videos
• Traffic or weather • Consumer electronics
from family or friends
• Food, including recipes,
• Traffic or weather • Movies or DVDs
restaurants, or wine
• Entertainment including
• National politics or
music, movies, books or • Food, recipes, or wine
elections
television
• Shopping or consumer • Specific brands of any
• Politics or elections
tips and reviews product
Source: Phase I
Contributors vs. Passive Users
UGC content varies widely in the extent to which it fosters “posting” as opposed to “lurking.”
Approximately 4 in 10 Web-enabled adults have posted their own content, with the most common
being on message boards and photo-sharing sites.
UGC Activity: Visiting vs. Posting
68%
Any 39%
42%
Photo-sharing 16 %
4 1%
User reviews or comments 13 %
39%
A message board or community forum 19 %
37%
Blog or online journal 13 %
26%
Video-sharing 5%
Ever Visited
24%
"Wiki" or collaborative, shared knowledge Web site 4% Ever Posted
24%
Social networking 12 %
Source: Phase1
8

10. When compared to the total number of visitors of UGC Web sites, posters make up about 6 in 10.
Users of social networking and message boards are most likely to contribute their own content, while
video sharing and wikis are viewed predominantly by lurkers.
Percent of Users Who Post
Highest % of Users Posting Moderate % of Users Posting Lowest % of Users Posting
~50% of users 32-38% of users <20% of users
• Social networking • Photo sharing • Video sharing
• Message boards/ community • Blogs/online journals • “Wikis”
forums
• User reviews/comments
There are also noticeable demographic differences between posters and lurkers. Young adults are
much more likely to contribute their own UGC than are older adults, particularly for social networking
and blogs. Women, on the other hand, are slightly more likely than men to be exclusively passive
users of UGC.
Key Demographics of Posters vs. Lurkers
Percentage Who Use User-Generated Content
Total Posters Lurkers
Gender
Men 49% 50% 42%
Women 51% 50% 58%
100% 100% 100%
Age
18-34 18% 23% 6%
35-54 40% 42% 37%
55+ 42% 35% 57%
100% 100% 100%
Source: Phase II
9

11. General Appeal of UGC
Respondents generally have positive attitudes towards UGC. After reading a brief description of each
content type, respondents reported finding several to be very appealing. The most appealing type of
UGC proved to be user comments/reviews: 6 in 10 found it appealing, followed by photo/video
sharing.
Appeal ratings tend to be much higher among those familiar with that type of content,
which suggests that driving UGC awareness and familiarity overall will have a positive
impact on trial and usage.
Appeal of UGC Type
Extremely/Very/Somewhat Appealing
Among Total
73% Among Those Familiar With Content
67%
60% 60% 61%
54% 56%
50% 48% 49%
45% 43%
39%
33% 32% 29% 29% 27%
Comments/ Photo/Video Message Blogs RSS Article Podcasts Article Social
Reviews Boards Saving Sharing Networking
Source: Phase II
Age plays a very strong role in the appeal ratings garnered by all tested content types.
Adults ages 18 to 34 give much higher ratings than do older Internet users for nearly all
items, though this is particularly the case for social networking, comments/reviews and
photo/video sharing.
Percent Finding Content Type Appealing
Photo/
Comments/ Message Social Article Article
Video Blogs Podcasts RSS
Reviews Boards Networking Sharing Saving
Sharing
Men 58% 54 49 46 27 28 37 28 31
Women 62% 54 40 41 27 29 30 30 34
18-34 71% 71 56 52 58 42 34 34 44
35-54 63% 63 51 52 27 35 37 33 36
55+ 51% 38 34 31 13 16 29 23 25
Source: Phase II
10

12. II. Involvement with Newspaper UGC Lags Behind General UGC Levels
Up until now, this report has focused on attitudes toward and usage of UGC in general. Newspaper
Web site-specific UGC reveals a much different story.
Compared to respondents’ use of UGC in general, reported use of UGC on newspaper Web sites is very
low. Fewer than 10 percent of all Web-enabled adults have used most types of newspaper Web site
UGC in the past month.
Newspaper UGC’s greatest weakness are for photo/video sharing and social
networking, with just 3 percent of Web-enabled adults using either in the past month.
Relative to UGC overall, newspaper sites perform best in blogs, with news and current
events being the most widely read blog topics overall, followed by food, politics and
shopping.
Relative Past Month UGC Usage
General UGC Use
Newspaper Web Site Use of UGC
31% 29% 29% 28%
21%
19% 19%
13%
7% 8% 8%
3% 3% 3%
User Photo Message Blogs Video Social Wikis/Shared
Reviews/ Sharing Boards Sharing Networking Knowledge
Comments
Source: Phase I
Posting Content on Newspaper Web Site vs. UGC in General
Newspaper Web sites also lag well behind UGC in general in terms of respondents’ posting of original
content. Though nearly 4 in 10 (39 percent) report having posted some type of content in the past,
only 7 percent have done so on a newspaper Web site. This highlights the fact that newspaper Web
sites have ample room for growth among those already using UGC.
11

13. Users Who Have Posted Content
Among Total Respondents
Have Posted
On Newspaper
Web Site
7%
Have Posted
Content
Never Posted Elsewhere
Content 32%
61%
Source: Phase I
Reasons for Low Usage of Newspaper Web Site UGC
There are a number of factors which cause lower usage rates on newspaper Web sites:
• First, usage of newspaper Web sites in general is currently limited to just a portion of the Web-
enabled market. Only half report having ever used their local newspaper Web site, while just 1
in 3 (35 percent) have used the local dominant Web site in the past month.
Frequency of Newspaper Site Usage
51%
35%
17%
7%
Ever Past 30 days Past 7 Days Yesterday
Source: Phase I
• Second, the Web-enabled market is generally unaware of the specific UGC offerings of their
local newspaper Web site.
User comments, which is the most widely known feature, achieves only 25 percent
awareness in the average market, and only 14 percent familiarity.
12

14. Awareness of and Familiarity with Newspaper Web Site Features
User co m m ents o n articles written by newspaper staff 25%
14%
B lo gs o r jo urnals written by newspaper staff 24%
11%
A rticles written by o rdinary users 22%
10%
A rticle-saving features such as bo o km arking 20%
12%
M essage bo ards o r co m m unity fo rum s 20%
10%
User co m m ents o n blo gs written by newspaper staff 18%
10%
17%
B lo gs o r jo urnals written by o rdinary users
7% % Aware of Content
P o dcasts o f articles, pho to s, o r video s 16% % Familiar wit h Cont ent
8%
User co m m ents o n blo gs written by users 15%
6%
P ho to -sharing features fo r users 9%
4%
So cial netwo rking features such as pro file pages o r user 9%
m essaging 4%
A rticle-sharing features such as links to D igg.co m o r R eddit.co m 8%
3%
Subscriptio n to articles o r blo gs via R SS feeds 8%
4%
Video -sharing features fo r users 8%
3%
Source: Phase I
Awareness of what their newspaper Web site offers is low even among those who are
generally familiar with each UGC type. This highlights the fact that those who use UGC
content do not associate newspaper Web sites with UGC.
Percent Aware that Newspaper Offers Among Those Familiar with Representative UGC
T
B lo gs o r jo urnals written by newspaper staff 37%
User co m m ents o n articles written by newspaper staff 35%
M essage bo ards o r co m m unity fo rum s 32%
User co m m ents o n blo gs written by newspaper staff 27%
B lo gs o r jo urnals written by o rdinary users 26%
User co m m ents o n blo gs written by users 22%
P ho to -sharing features fo r users 14%
So cial netwo rking features such as pro file pages o r user
m essaging 13%
Video -sharing features fo r users 10%
Source: Phase I
• Third, respondents do not see newspaper Web sites as a “destination” for UGC.
13

15. Newspaper Web site visitors typically do not go to the Web site for UGC, as it ranked as
the least important reason for visiting.
Rather, the most compelling drivers for visiting centered on news, weather and
community info.
Importance of Reasons for Visiting Newspaper Site
Fo r lo cal news o r weather 38% 39% 23%
Fo r the latest breaking news 34% 32% 34%
Fo r natio nal o r internatio nal news 23% 34% 43%
Fo r info rm atio n o n things to do o r places to go in yo ur co m m unity 2 1% 36% 43%
Fo r spo rts sco res, statistics and sto ries 19 % 2 1% 60%
Fo r advertising including ads fo r cars, ho m es, jo bs as well as lo cal
17 % 2 1% 62%
sto res
Fo r business o r perso nal finance info rm atio n 12 % 19 % 69%
To read o pinio n pieces written by(nam e o f newspaper's) edito rial staff 10 % 20% 70%
To read sto ries, co m m ents and lo o k at o ther m aterial subm itted by
9% 20% 7 1%
o ther readers to the website
Ext remely/Very Import ant Import ant Not Very/Not at all Import ant
Source: Phase I
In sum, the weakness of newspaper Web site UGC usage is largely the result of a lack of awareness
among Web-enabled adults. With the exception of blogs, newspaper Web sites are not currently
being associated with UGC. That the majority of those familiar with these types of UGC are unaware
that their local newspaper offers the feature clearly indicates that a large segment of potential users
are not being reached.
Summary Snapshot of UGC Awareness/Trial/Usage
Source: Phase I
Note: Newspaper numbers reflect markets offering feature
14

16. III. Despite Low Current Usage, Newspaper UGC Has Real Potential for Growth
Expected future use of UGC is substantial, with about 1 in 3 Web-enabled adults planning to use blogs,
user comments/reviews, photo/video sharing and message boards in the next month.
However, intended usage of newspaper Web site UGC in particular tends to be much lower. Just 1 in
10 or fewer expect to use their local newspaper Web site for podcasts, social networking, RSS feeds,
and article sharing and saving.
Newspaper Web sites obtain their greater “share” of intent to use in areas that are traditionally
article/opinion based – specifically, blogs and user comments/reviews.
Intended Next Month UGC Usage
Usage Intent Ratio*
65 37%
Blogs 24%
58 36%
User Review s/ Comment s 21%
43 30%
Phot o/V ideo Sharing 13%
38 29%
Message Boards 11%
27 22%
Social Net w orking 6%
71 14% General
RSS Feeds 10%
38 13% Newspaper Web site
Podcast s 5%
75 12%
A rt icle Sharing 9%
83 12%
A rt icle Saving 10%
Source: Phase II
* Newspaper sites’ share of total intent to use: newspaper Web site usage/general usage
This lower intent to use newspaper UGC is likely driven by a number of factors, particularly:
• Respondents’ low familiarity with and sparse use of newspaper UGC in the past typically
translates into lower intended usage.
• The greatest usage gaps occur in categories that have entrenched “killer apps,” or content
types currently dominated by a particular Web site. This includes YouTube and Flickr for
photo/video sharing, Yahoo! for message boards and Facebook/MySpace for social
networking.
Nevertheless, the lower intent to use newspaper UGC than general UGC appears to be only partly the
result of lower “appeal.” In fact, after being given a description of the content, the appeal of
newspaper UGC only lags slightly behind that of the broader categories.
15

17. Appeal of UGC Type
Extremely/Very/Somewhat Appealing
General A ppeal
60% Newspaper Web site A ppeal
54%
45% 43%
51% 33% 32%
29% 29%
43% 43% 27%
31% 29%
26% 26%
21%
17%
Comments/ Photo/Video Message Blogs RSS Article Podcasts Article Social
Reviews Boards Saving Sharing Networking
Source: Phase II
Impact of Appeal vs. Familiarity on Intent to Use Newspaper UGC
Because this gap in appeal between general UGC and newspaper UGC is so minor, it appears much
more likely that the lower usage intent for newspaper Web sites is the result of a lack of awareness and
familiarity. This hypothesis is supported by the large gap between past month use and intended use
after exposure to newspapers’ current offerings.
The brief description of each type of content offered by the local newspaper Web site provided in the
questionnaire was itself enough to catch the interest of many respondents, and in all cases far eclipsed
last month’s use.
Past vs. Planned Future Use of Newspaper Web Sites
24% % Used on newspaper site past month
21% % Likely to use on newspaper site in next month
14% 13%
10% 11% 10% 10%
9%
6% 5%
3% 3% 2% 2% 2%
1% 1%
Blogs Comments/ Photo/Video Message Social RSS Podcasts Article Article
Reviews Boards Networking Sharing Saving
Source: Phase II
• This gap between actual use and intent to use in the future after exposure to a product
description suggests that efforts to drive awareness of what is available on newspaper sites
should yield substantial gains in usage.
• The data also indicate that awareness efforts should feature blogs, user comments/reviews and
photo/video sharing most prominently, as they appear to garner the most intent.
16

18. IV. Enhancing UGC Offerings Greatly Improves Likelihood of Use
While exposure to a description of their newspaper Web site’s UGC offerings goes a long way towards
increasing respondents’ intent to use, enhancements of what is already offered also proves to have a
strong effect on interest.
Several topics, features, and options were presented to respondents, and several of these were found
appealing enough to have a significant impact on whether they would visit their newspaper’s Web site
or not.
• When respondents were told to assume that their local newspaper Web site would revamp to
include the UGC features and topics they found most appealing, intended usage increased
significantly.
• Providing the blog topics found most appealing appears to offer the most potential to
newspapers in terms of driving usage, with expected usage quadrupling past month usage to
4 in 10 respondents.
• Improvements to user comments/reviews features and photo/video sharing also resulted in a
marked increase in expected use, up to 1 in 4 for the former and 1 in 5 for the latter.
Newspaper Web Site UGC Usage: Actual Usage vs. Impact of Exposure and Enhancements
% Actually used newspaper site in past month
% Likely to use after exposure
40% % Likely to use with enhancements
24% 25%
21%
19%
17%
14% 13%
10% 11%
3% 3%
Blogs Comments/ Reviews Photo/Video Message Boards
Source: Phase II
Impact of UGC Enhancements on Usage among Those Previously Unaware of Content Offerings
It is also worth noting that the inclusion of appealing enhancements drives up respondents’ likelihood
of visiting even among those previously unaware that their newspaper Web site offered this type of
content. This is particularly true of blogs and message boards, where their likelihood of using nearly
matches that of those already aware of their newspapers’ content. This again suggests that the
current weakness of newspaper Web site UGC use is more the result of a lack of awareness than a lack
of interest.
17

19. Percent Extremely/Very/Somewhat Likely
To Use Specific UGC Type
Among Those Aware Content Is Among Those Unaware Content Is
Offered Offered
Initial If Enhancements of If Enhancements of
Initial Intent
Intent Interest Are Added Interest Are Added
Blogs 42% 57% 23% 52%
Photo/ Video Sharing 30% 45% 22% 32%
Comments/Reviews 38% 51% 25% 41%
Message Boards 37% 40% 27% 38%
Social Networking 24% 30% 15% 23%
Podcasts 17% 33% 9% 20%
RSS Feeds 31% 38% 16% 23%
Source: Phase II
Learning From Existing Web Sites
Certain existing sites also offer appealing features that newspaper Web sites could adopt.
Respondents, exposed to descriptions of competitive sites that newspapers might emulate, tended to
find those that provide local information to be the most appealing. When it came to comments and
reviews, sites like Angie’s List, City Squares and Yelp offered the kind of UGC that respondents most
preferred.
Appeal of Other UGC Sources
Angie's list 31% 30% 61%
City squares 18% 41% 59%
Citysearch 16% 43% 59%
Yelp 14% 37% 51%
Upcoming 13% 34% 47%
Dailyme 10% 33% 43%
NowPublic 7% 28% 35%
OurFaves 7% 28% 35%
Ext remely/Very appealing
Squidoo 6% 19% 25% Somewhat appealing
Fanpop 4% 20% 24%
Source: Phase II
18

20. Phase I Methodology
A random digit dial (RDD) telephone survey conducted among 1000 adults, 18 years of age and over
who have accessed the Internet in the past month. This survey:
• ran approximately 15 minutes in length;
• was conducted between October 17-27, 2007; and
• represented the roughly 70% of adults 18 years of age and over with Internet access in the five
participating markets: Atlanta, Denver, Milwaukee, Norfolk and Tampa.
Phase II Methodology
This online survey was conducted among 2,096 adults, 18 years of age and older who have accessed
the Internet in the past month. This survey:
• was fielded in March 2008;
• ran approximately 25 minutes in length; and
• represented the five participating markets.
o Respondents were exposed to a description of each general UGC type, and then asked about their
familiarity, usage and overall appeal, as well as their intent to use in the future.
o Respondents were then exposed to a concept statement and actual content supplied by each
market that described their specific UGC offering and were again asked to rate their awareness,
usage, appeal and intent as it related to newspaper UGC.
o They were then asked about a series of possible enhancements to the offering and re-rated their
likelihood of using.
o In order to account for the fact that online panelists often have a greater affinity for the Internet,
respondents were weighted by race, hours spent on the Internet in the past week, and online
purchases made in the past six months, to conform to the telephone survey parameters.
19

21. Section 2. Types of User-Generated Content and User
Engagement Tools
User Comments and Reviews
User comments and reviews are the area of UGC that leads in interest among site visitors are
impact on the newspaper’s Web site, making this type of UGC the leader in opportunities for
newspaper sites.
User-reviews and ratings of products and services are an increasingly important part of
purchasing decisions for Web users. A Deloitte Consumer Product Group study in late 2007
found 62 percent of U.S. Internet users ages 16 and older read product reviews written by
consumers. Almost all (99 percent) of those people find the reviews credible. Further, “eight in
10 respondents to the Deloitte study said online consumer reviews had affected their buying
intentions,” eMarketer reported.
The resource most frequently used when researching products are user reviews, consumers said
in the October 2007 Avenue A | Razorfish “Digital Consumer Behavior Study.” Fifty-five percent
of the 475 U.S. adult consumers surveyed said they use user reviews “most often” – more than
comparison charts and more than twice as often as expert reviews.
Forty-one percent of those surveyed in the first phase of this study said they have read or posted
a user-review or comment somewhere online, with 5 percent having used such a feature
“today”. The most frequently read types of user reviews among those who have used this type of
site or feature in the past 30 days are books, consumer electronics and movies or DVDs.
Comments on journalist-written articles and blogs are also a strong area of interest for
newspaper Web site visitors.
Opportunities for Newspapers
Newspaper-hosted local business reviews seem to be a strong opportunity. Respondents to this
survey (especially those who have used newspaper site comments or reviews in the past three
months) said they were interested in user ratings of products or services on a 5-point scale to
make it easier to compare.
The ability to rate comments and reviews in terms of their helpfulness, the ability to see the
commenter/reviewer profiles and privately message those people are also interesting to
respondents.
The Racine (Wis.) Journal Times built an active online community by offering Web site users
the opportunity to comment on the news. Using simple (and free, open source) technology,
the paper’s journalists have posted content, solicited user comments and managed user
interaction to keep conversations lively and on track. Learn more about this audience building
initiative on GrowingAudience.com.
20

22. Rated Interest in Potential User Comment/Review Features
Among Top 3 Box
Used User Comments/ Visited Newspaper
Reviews Past 3 Months Web Site Past Month
Newspaper User
% Total Any Comments/Reviews Yes No
User ratings of products or
services on a 5 point scale to
make it easier to compare 18 27 33 29 14
Ability to rate the comments and
reviews of others in terms of how
helpful they were 11 16 24 21 7
Ability to privately message a
commenter or reviewer to find
out more 11 16 22 18 8
Ability to see a profile of a given
reviewer 11 16 22 17 8
Adding the topics respondents indicated interest in makes it more likely they will use user
comments or reviews. This is true both those previously aware that comments/reviews are
offered (from 38 percent to 51 percent) as well as for those who did not (25 percent to 41
percent).
Participation
User reviews of local restaurants and local services are the most interesting to those who have
visited the newspaper’s Web site in the past month. User reviews of local restaurants are also the
most interesting to those who have
One-third of newspaper Web site visitors said they are extremely or very likely to read or post
user comments/reviews in the next month. Overall, 29 percent of respondents said they have
ever read or posted a newspaper site comment or review.
Reflecting the importance of the consumer/customer review, the number of review-based Web
sites has significantly increased in the past few years. Well-known sites in this category include
epinions.com, with an impossible to calculate number of reviews, and its younger competitor,
Yelp.com, with more than 2 million reviews. A 2008 article in The Washington Post headlined
) “Yelp Critiques Heard and
Heeded in D.C.” focused on the
increasing amount of attention retailers give these sites. “Some businesses said they have
started monitoring Yelp reviews and using them to gauge their performance,” The Washington
Post reported.
Familiarity and Appeal
Familiarity with user comments and reviews on newspaper Web sites is high compared to other
forms of UGC. Close to 60 percent (59 percent) of respondents said they are aware the
newspaper Web site allows users to post comments or reviews (this increases to 64 percent of
18- to 34-year-old adults), and 76 percent of all newspaper Web site visitors are aware of this.
21

23. Rating Appeal of User Comments/Reviews Rated User Comments/Reviews Appealing
Among Total Respondents Among Demographic Groups
Total 60%
Male 58%
Extrem ely / Female 62%
Not at all Very 18-34 71%
20% appealing 35-54 63%
19% 55+ 51%
Under $50K 60%
Not too $50K- <$75K 67%
Som ewhat
20% appealing $75K+ 62%
41% HS or less 57%
Some college 61%
College grad+ 59%
Newspaper site visitors 70%
Newspaper site non-visitors 55%
Past week readers 64%
Slightly fewer respondents (51 percent) said they find newspaper site user comments and
reviews are appealing. Seventy percent of newspaper Web site visitors said user comments and
reviews are appealing, and 55 percent of newspaper Web site non-visitors said this is appealing
– more than any other type of UGC among this group. Among those who have read or posted
comments/reviews on a newspaper Web site, 77 percent rate this activity as appealing.
More than 40 percent of those who have read or posted comments/reviews on a newspaper
Web site in the past said they are likely to do so in the next 30 days.
Appeal of Newspaper User Comments/Reviews
52%
45% 46%
41% 42%
37%
33%
30%
21%
25%
19% 19% 19% 20%
14% 12%
8% 5%
User Total Aware of Not Aware Ever Used Ever Used Never UsedNewspaper
Non-Visitors
Com m ents/ Newspaper User Newspaper User Site Visitors
Reviews in User Com m ents/ User Com m ents/
General Com m ents/ Reviews Com m ents/ Reviews
Reviews Reviews
Extremely/Very Appealing Somewhat Appealing
22

24. Blogs
Although blogs (formally Web logs) are one of the oldest forms of what is now referred to as
UGC, they present an opportunity for newspaper Web sites.
The first blogs started in the early 1990s, and many were personal, online diaries. As the
blogosphere grew, more blogs launched that focus on current events, issues, themes or items of
niche interest. Today, in addition to text, blogs may include videos, photos, podcasts or other
audio and much more.
By the end of 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 70 million blogs – not
all of them active. Of the top 100 blogs by “authority” according to March 2008 Technorati traffic
rankings, only one was from a newspaper company – The New York Times’ Freakonomics
blogs.nytimes.com – but dozens focused on current events and technology.
However, readership of blogs on newspaper sites is on the rise and newspaper-based blogs are
an increasingly popular and effective way of communicating with readers. Many newspapers
host breaking news blogs, weather and traffic blogs, blogs from popular columnists and blogs
on a range of subjects from politics to entertainment. The New York Times features more than
50 blogs written by staff members and non-staff members. The Houston Chronicle features
more than 70 blogs, written by staff and readers. The Knoxville News-Sentinel has partnered
with BlogNetNews to aggregate blogs from the local community.
Data from Nielsen//NetRatings revealed the number of unique visitors to blog pages on the 10
most popular newspaper-based Web sites grew 210 percent during 2006, the most recent year
for which this data is available.
Opportunities for Newspapers
The “2008 State of the News Media” report from the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which
reported on the Nielsen//NetRatings data, suggested news consumers are not yet considering
blogs a news source. PEJ cited the research from Synovate mentioned earlier, which concluded
49 percent of American Internet users read blogs for their entertainment value, 26 percent read
them to keep up on a hobby or other interest, and only 15 percent of U.S. Internet users read
blogs for news and information.
However, according to this survey, newspaper Web site visitors are very interested in news and
current events blogs. Among respondents who have read a newspaper blog in the past three
months, half are interested in news and current events, 40 percent are interested in
politics/elections, and 39 percent are interested in local/public affairs.
The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash. has a large-scale blogging initiative that is building
its Web traffic significantly. The newspaper hosts more than 30 blogs on topics such as sports
and local restaurants. Traffic to the newspaper’s blogs is increasing much more rapidly than
for the rest of the newspaper’s online offerings. Learn more about this audience building
initiative on GrowingAudience.com.
23

25. Rated Interest in Blog Topic: Top Tier
Among Top 3 Box
Used Blog Visited Newspaper
Past 3 Months Web Site Past Month
Any Newspaper
% Total Blog Blog Yes No
News/current events 26 34 50 35 22
National politics/elections 20 27 40 27 18
Traffic/weather 19 23 33 23 18
Local public affairs 17 23 39 26 14
Food, including recipes,
restaurants, or wine 17 22 34 27 13
Travel 16 20 29 24 12
Shopping/consumer tips and
reviews 16 22 30 24 12
Health/fitness 15 19 25 24 12
Books 15 20 27 19 14
Science/technology 15 21 29 19 13
Movies 14 18 25 19 11
TV 14 15 24 15 13
Most importantly, likelihood of reading a newspaper blog increases substantially after assuming
the Web site would add the topics respondents said they are interested in. This holds true for
those previously aware that blogs are offered (from 42 percent to 57 percent) as well as for those
who did not (23 percent to 52 percent).
Participation
The blog-consuming audience is larger and more diverse than the blog-producing population.
In 2006, Pew Internet & American Life Project surveys revealed a U.S. blogging population of 12
million adults, 8 percent of the country’s adult Internet users. The number of blog readers is
nearly five times that: 57 million U.S. online adults read blogs, or about 39 percent of adult
Internet users.
This NAA survey revealed something similar: 62 percent of respondents said they had ever read
a blog, 26 percent said they had written comments on another person’s blog post and 21
percent said they had ever written a blog post.
Familiarity and Appeal
With this relatively long history, it is not surprising that more than half (54 percent) of
respondents to the survey said they are familiar with blogs.
Similarly to other Web 2.0 technologies, usage of the medium skews younger. “Awareness and
usage of blogs, along with people penning their own, strongly correlates to age, with younger
people being much more active,” according to research from the marketing firm Synovate.
Familiarity with blogs in general is higher among younger adults than older adults and is higher
among newspaper Web site visitors than non-visitors. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of
24

26. 18 to 34 year olds said they are familiar with blogs, and 68 percent of newspaper Web site
visitors are familiar.
Awareness of blogs on newspaper Web sites is higher than it is for other forms of UGC; a strong
majority (71 percent) of newspaper Web site visitors surveyed responding they are aware their
local newspaper has blogs.
Newspaper blogs are also appealing to 52 percent of respondents ages 54 and younger.
However, only 37 percent of 18 to 34 year olds said they were likely to read any blog in the next
month, and 38 percent of newspaper Web site visitors said the same.
Likelihood of reading newspaper blogs in the next month among newspaper site visitors and
those who have previously read newspaper blogs is higher.
Likelihood of Reading Newspaper Blogs
26%
12% 21%
18% 18%
13%
30%
25% 9% 21% 10%
16% 15%
11% 5%
6% 3% 6%
Blogs in Total Aware of Not Aware Ever Used Ever Used Never Used Newspaper Non-
General Newspaper Blogs Newspaper a Blog Site Visitors
Blogs Blogs Visitors
Extremely/Very Likely Somewhat Likely
25

27. Online Video and Photo Sharing
Due in part to the exponential growth of YouTube, Photobucket and Flickr, the phrase “user-
generated content” is perhaps most frequently associated with videos and photos.
The increase in broadband penetration and improvements in video technology have allowed
newspaper online video to flourish. According to the Newspaper Association of America’s
“Newspapers’ Online Operations: Performance Report 2006,” survey, 80 percent of the 174
respondent newspapers reported having video on their newspaper’s Web site.
Overall, user-generated videos tallied 22 billion views in 2007, a 70 percent increase over 2006,
according to Accustream iMediaResearch. Online video views may hit 34 billion or more by the
end of 2008.
A late-2007 survey of 1,572 Internet users ages 18 and older by the Pew Internet & American Life
Project revealed Web users ages 18 to 29 were the heaviest viewers of online video. Seventy
percent said they had ever visited a video-sharing site and 30 percent said they did so
“yesterday”.
Photo sharing is also a very popular activity. Photobucket and Flickr are the two most popular
photo-sharing sites on the Web. In late 2007, a Flickr user uploaded the 2 billionth photo to the
site. Photobucket’s agreement with MySpace drives its popularity, and has at least 25 million
users. Rapid developments and dropping costs of digital cameras and cell phone cameras have
spurred this growth.
Opportunities for Newspapers
An ABI Research survey of 1,000 people in December 2007 found news is the most-viewed type
of online video content, with 65 percent of respondents saying they watch news video online.
Respondents to this survey who have used photo/video sharing features on a newspaper Web
site in the past three months indicated they are interested in live-streaming video from the
newsroom or from the scene. They are also interested in being able to search for photos or
video, see which ones are the most popular and forwarding photos and videos onto others.
26

28. Rated Interest in Newspaper Photo/Video Sharing Feature
Among Top 3 Box
Used Photo/Video Sharing Visited Newspaper
in Past 3 Months Web site Past Month
% Total Any Newspaper Yes No
Live video feeds from the newsroom
and on location 18 23 50 26 14
The ability to choose to view photos in
either a thumbnail gallery or
slideshow 15 21 51 26 11
Ability to search for photos by user,
subject, date, etc 14 20 38 24 10
Forwarding photos on to other users 12 17 38 18 10
A ranked listing of the Most popular
photos 9 12 37 14 7
The ability to comment on photos
submitted by other users 7 10 26 11 5
Galleries where photos can be rated or
scrolled by users 6 7 21 10 4
A comment feature on videos where
comments can be inserted at specific
places in the video 6 7 25 9 4
Adding enhancements to photo/video sharing on newspaper Web sites can increase the
likelihood that site visitors will participate. Just 13 percent of respondents said they are at least
somewhat likely to use photo/video sharing features on their local newspaper Web site in the
next month. However, the number of respondents describing themselves this way increases to
23 percent if the newspaper immediately added enhancements. This is true among both those
previously aware what their newspaper Web site offered (from 30 percent to 45 percent), as well
as for those who did not (22 percent to 32 percent).
The photo/video sharing features included in this survey were:
• Live video feeds from the newsroom and on location;
• Galleries where photos can be rated or scrolled by users;
• The ability to comment on photos submitted by other users;
• A ranked listing of the Most popular photos;
• Forwarding of photos on to other users;
• Ability to search for photos by user, subject, date, etc.;
• The ability to choose to view photos in either a thumbnail gallery or slideshow; and
• A comment feature on videos where comments can be inserted at specific places in the
video.
Morris Communications rolled out its “Spotted” product – a site featuring photographs taken
by the newspaper and by citizens – in all its 25 newspaper markets. “It’s a page view machine,”
says Ed Coyle, director of audience growth and development for Morris. In late 2007, it
generated almost one-eighth of all page views on the company’s newspaper Web sites. Learn
more about this audience building initiative on GrowingAudience.com.
27

29. Participation
Eighty-one percent of respondents to this NAA survey reported having used a photo or video
sharing Web site at some point, with 54 percent having done so in the past month. Viewing
someone else’s photos and videos and reading someone else’s comments on those photos or
videos were the most popular activities.
Despite high national figures, slightly less than 3 in 10 respondents to this survey believe they
are likely to “use photo or video sharing features on any Web site in the next 30 days.” Those
most likely to use a photo or video sharing site are those ages aged 18 to 34.
Fifty-one percent of those who have ever used newspaper site photo/video sharing features said
they are likely to use it in the next month. Photo and video sharing is extremely/very appealing
or somewhat appealing to 80 percent of respondents who have used these features on their
newspaper’s Web site in the past. This is significantly higher than the percentage of people (54
percent) who see photo and video sharing in general as appealing.
Familiarity and Appeal
Among all respondents, 35 percent are aware of photo or video sharing features on their local
newspaper’s Web site. Forty-five percent of newspaper Web site visitors are aware of these
features. But, those who do use photo/video sharing features on newspaper Web sites find
this appealing.
Appeal of Newspaper Photo/Video Sharing Features
48%
38% 44%
39% 42%
34% 31%
28%
32%
16% 14% 10% 13% 11%
9% 6% 2% 8%
Photo/Video Total Aware of Not Aware Ever Used Ever Used Never Used Newspaper Non-Visitors
Sharing Newspaper Photo/Video Newspaper Photo/Video Site Visitors
Features in Photo/Video Sharing Photo/Video Sharing
General Sharing Features Sharing Features
Features Features
Extremely/Very A ppealing Somewhat A ppealing
28

30. Online Message Boards
For many newspapers, message boards or discussion forums were the first foray into user-
generated content. Message boards are an area of a Web site that allows visitors to read and
post messages to each other. Many times, messages are posted in reverse chronological order,
and conversations are threaded together.
Big sites, such as Yahoo and AOL, host message boards that can have more than 100,000 new
posts in a 24-hour period.
Opportunities for Newspapers
Perhaps tellingly, the most popular enhancements to online message boards are the ability to
hide (or view) all posts on a particular article or blog entry, the ability to flag objectionable
content and the ability to hide all comments from a particular poster. However, the ability to
learn more about individual message board participants is also appealing.
With these enhancements in place, the respondents who say they are at least somewhat likely to
use their local newspaper’s message boards in the next month increases just 3 percent for those
who knew about the message boards. Likelihood increases 8 percent for those who were not
aware of the newspaper’s message boards.
Rating Interest in Possible Message Board Features
Top 3 Box
Used Message Board Visited Newspaper
Past 3 Months Web site Past Month
Any Message Newspaper
% Total Board Message Board Yes No
Ability to flag objectionable posts 19 30 34 26 17
Ability to filter out the posts of
particular board members 14 21 28 21 10
Ability to hide or view all posts on a
given article or blog 12 20 29 20 9
Ability to send private
messages/comments to other
posters who choose to accept them 11 19 26 17 9
The ability to read a short profile of
each contributor 9 17 28 14 8
Participation
Almost 60 percent of survey respondents said they have read someone else's
messages or posts at some point in the past. However, usage of newspaper Web site message
boards is much lower. Only 11 percent of respondents said they have every read or posted on a
newspaper online message board. Even among those who reported they are aware the
newspaper site has message boards, only 27 percent have ever used them.
29

31. Last Time Used Message Boards Past Month Newspaper Message Board Usage
Those Aware Among Demographic Groups
Total 8%
Online Message Boards in General Among Male 9%
10%14% 9% 26% 41%
Total Fem ale 7%
18-34 9%
35-54 12%
Newspaper Online Message Boards Among 8%
2% 89% 5%
those in Market Offered 55+
1%
Under $50K 7%
$50K- <$75K 16%
Newspaper Online Message Boards Among 5%
2% 19% 73% $75K+ 7%
those Aware* 1%
HS or less 5%
Som e college 10%
College grad+ 7%
Today Past 7 days Past month 1 month+ Never Newspaper site
17%
visitors
Newspaper site non-
3%
visitors
Past week readers 8%
Thirty-eight percent reported posting their own messages on any message board. The past
month participation rate for online message boards is higher than it is for those who have
posted comments on other people’s blogs (26 percent) and for those who have posted a user-
comment or review (28 percent).
Familiarity and Appeal
In general, online message boards are somewhat familiar and appealing to people. Many survey
respondents (55 percent) said they are familiar with online message boards in general. Even
more newspaper Web site visitors are familiar with online message boards (66 percent). Online
message boards in general are only appealing to 45 percent of survey respondents and 52
percent of newspaper Web site visitors.
However, newspaper-based online message boards are only appealing to 31 percent of survey
respondents. Appeal is higher among newspaper Web site visitors, though the appeal is just
equal to the appeal of online message boards in general, at 45 percent. The appeal of
newspaper-based online message boards is highest among those who have already used them.
Appeal of Newspaper Online Message Boards*
43%
31%
36% 37%
28%
25% 22% 20%
14% 14% 11%
6% 7% 5% 9% 8% 5%
1%
Online Total Aware of Not AwareEver Used Ever Used Newspaper Non-
Never Used
Message Newspaper Message Newspaper Message Site Visitors
Boards in Online Boards Message Boards Visitors
General Message Boards
Boards
Extremely/Very A ppealing Somewhat A ppealing
*Base: Total Tampa/Milwaukee
30

32. Social Networking
There is no doubt social networking is one of the hottest UGC areas in Web 2.0. Social
networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and newer services such as Ning and Bebo
continue to draw new members, though they do so at a slower rate than in 2007.
Despite the slowdown, major social networking sites are a significant online draw. News Corp.-
owned MySpace had more than 72 million unique visitors in April 2008, according to comScore.
Facebook had more than 35 million.
The amount of time social network members spend on these sites is impressive and is evidence
that these sites are very engaging. The average visit time for on soial networking sites (as of
early 2008) was more than 20 minutes, according to Hitwise.
Opportunities for Newspapers
This report noted earlier that user comments and reviews are a strong opportunity area for
newspaper Web sites because reviews are a factor in many consumers’ purchasing decisions.
Placing these in the context of social networking on the newspaper site is also a good idea.
Interest in newspaper-based social networking features was high among respondents who have
used social networking in the past month. Forty-five percent of these people indicated interest
in reading or posting “reviews of local restaurants, services, handymen, etc.”
In addition, at least 40 percent of respondents who are newspaper-based social networkers
indicated interest in reading other people’s profiles, posting or viewing personal video galleries,
associating with other social networks, and instant messaging other newspaper social network
members.
Likelihood of Using Newspaper Social Networking Features*
1% Used Newspaper 51%
Social Networking in
24%
22%
5% 11%
6% 9% 10%
6% 27% 5%
17% 5% 2% 5%
5%
3% 3% 6% 2%
3% 4% 3% 2% 5% 3%
Social Total Aware of Not Aware Ever Used Ever Used Never UsedNewspaper
Non-Visitors
Networking in Newspaper Social Newspaper Social Site Visitors
General Social Networking Social Networking
Networking Networking**
Extremely/Very Likely Somewhat Likely
*Base: Total Atlanta/Denver/Norfolk
** Note: Very small base
31

33. The number of respondents describing themselves as at least somewhat likely to use their
newspaper’s social networking features in the next month doubles (from 6 percent to 12
percent) if the enhancements they are interested in are added.
Participation
The hurdle for newspapers seems to be in getting people to participate in social networking on
the newspaper’s site for the first time. Once site visitors try the social networking features of a
newspaper site, they seem to be likely to return. More than half of respondents who have used
newspaper social networking in the past are likely to do so again in the next month.
Likelihood of Using Newspaper Social Networking Features*
1% Used Newspaper
Social Networking in
24%
5%
27%
17% 5% 5%
5%
3% 3% 6% 2%
3% 4% 3% 2% 5% 3%
Social Total A ware of Not A ware Ever Used Ever Used Never Used Newspaper Non-Visitors
Networking in Newspaper Social Newspaper Social Site Visitors
General Social Networking Social Networking
Networking Networking**
Extremely/Very Likely Somewhat Likely
*Base: Total Atlanta/Denver/Norfolk
** Note: Very small base
Only 6 percent of all respondents consider themselves at least somewhat likely to use social
networking features on a newspaper Web site in the next month.
In general, many people are members of social networking sites, but not all of those members
are particularly active. Only 17 percent of respondents to this survey said they are likely to visit a
social networking site in the next month. (Close to half of respondents ages 18 to 34 said they
were likely to do so.)
Familiarity and Appeal
For all the hype surrounding social networking and the high number of social network
members, less than half (45 percent) of respondents to this survey said they are familiar with the
area. However, younger users are significantly more familiar with social networking than older
adults. More than three-quarters of respondents ages 18 to 34 and 55 percent of respondents
ages 35 to 54 are familiar with social networking.
More than half (55 percent) of newspaper Web site visitors are familiar with social networking.
Thirty-four percent find it appealing. Like familiarity, appeal is higher among younger people.
Social networking in general is appealing to 27 percent of survey respondents. Newspaper-
based social networking is appealing to an about equal percentage of respondents who were
32

34. already aware of newspaper Web site social networking, newspaper Web site visitors and those
who have ever used social networking in general. Thirty-seven percent of those who have ever
used newspaper social networking find it appealing.
Appeal of Newspaper Social Networking
31%
17%
23% 20% 22%
17%
15% 14%
12%
10% 8%
4% 4% 3% 5% 4% 3%
1%
Social Total Aware of Not AwareEver Used Ever Used
Never Used
Newspaper Non-Visitors
Networking in Newspaper Social Newspaper Social Site Visitors
General Social Networking Social Networking
Networking Networking**
Extremely/Very A ppealing Somewhat A ppealing
*Base: Total Atlanta/Denver/Norfolk
** Note: Very small base
33