Director Lee Rainie gave a keynote at the NFAIS annual conference about the way the internet and mobile connectivity have transformed the worlds of networked individuals. He discussed how normal life has changed in the past decade because of three revolutions in technology: 1) the spread of broadband; 2) the rise of mobile connectivity; and 3) the emergence of technological social networks. He will discuss trends and likely future developments in technology that will shape the way people learn, share, and create information.

1. The emerging information landscape
The 8 realities of the “new normal”
Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project
2.26.12
NFAIS - Philadelphia
Email: Lrainie@pewinternet.org
Twitter: @Lrainie
PewInternet.org

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4. New normal – circa 1999
• Non-internet user, and
users were …
• Male
• White
• College educated
• Dial-up at 32/kbits
• Email
• Directory and portal
search
• Chat rooms
• Napster
• TiVo

5. Digital Revolution 1
Internet (80%) and Broadband at home (66%)
Home broadband Home dial-up
80%
70%
71%
60%
50%
66%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
June April March March April March March March April April May May August Jan
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2011 2012

6. Networked creators are everywhere
(two-thirds of adults; three-quarters of teens)
• 66% of int. users are social networking site users
• 55% share photos
• 37% contribute rankings and ratings
• 33% create content tags
• 30% share personal creations
• 26% post comments on sites and blogs
• 15% have personal website
• 15% are content remixers
• 14% are bloggers
• 13% use Twitter
• 6% location services – 9% allow location
awareness from social media – 23% maps etc.

7. 56% of adults own laptops –
up from 30% in 2006
52% of adults own DVRs –
up from 3% in 2002
44% of adults own MP3 players –
up from 11% in 2005
42% of adults own game consoles
19% of adults own e-book readers - Kindle
19% of adults own tablet computer - iPad

8. Digital Revolution 2
Mobile – 87%
327.6
Total U.S.
population:
315.5
million

9. 4X% of adults/2X% of teens own “smartphones”

10. Apps – 50% of adults
Sept 2009 May 2010 August 2011
100%
80%
60%
50*
40% 38* 38 43* 43
29*
22%
20%
0%
Download apps to their Have preloaded apps on Total who have apps on
phone their phone phone

11. Digital Revolution 3
Social networking – 50% of all adults
100%
% of internet users 86% 85%
80% 83%
70% 71%
76%
67% 61%
60%
52%
48%
49% 47% 51%
40% 35%
25% 33%
25% 26%
20%
9% 8% 11% 13%
7% 7%
4%
0% 6%
1%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
18-29 30-49 50-64 65+

12. Mean size of Facebook friends
network
350.0
300.0
250.0
200.0
150.0 318.5
100.0 197.6
155.7
50.0
85.1 78.4
42.0
0.0
Millennials Gen X Younger Older Boomers Silent G.I. Generation
(18-34) (35-46) Boomers (57-65) Generation (75+)
(47-56) (66-74)

13. New normal – circa 2012
• Broadband
• Mobile
• Gender parity
• Race and ethnicity parity
• Less SES stratification
• Less generational variance
• Email
• Search
• Social networking and
content creation
• Video on demand

14. Eight realities of
the new normal
for information
users and
providers

15. New Reality 1) The world is full of networked
individuals using networked information
Image attribution: Flickrverse, Expanding Ever with New Galaxies Forming Cobalt123
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobalt/34248855/sizes/z/in/photostream/

16. New Reality 2) The 4 V’s of information
“physics” change
Volume Velocity
Vibrance Valence /
Relevance

17. New Reality 3) People are shifting info platforms

18. New Reality 3) Corollary
People use multiple platforms
News platforms Americans use on typical day
90
78
80 73
70
61
% of adults (18+)
60 54
50
50
40
30
20
17
10
0
Local TV National Online Radio Local National
network/cable newspaper newspaper

19. New Reality 3) Corollary
People blend platforms – 59% use online and offline
# of news platforms Americans use typical day
70%
60%
46% 46%
% of adults (18+)
50%
40%
30%
20%
7%
10%
0%
1 platform 2-3 platforms 4-6 platforms

21. New Reality 3) Corollary
People are not platform zealots

22. New Reality 3) People’s encounters with
information change
Portable Participatory

23. New Reality 3) People’s encounters with
information change
Personal

24. New Reality 4) Influence is migrating from
organizations to networks and new “experts”
Traditional experts with
new platforms, esp. blogs
Amateur experts who are
avid contributors –
sometimes with tribes
New algorithmic authorities

25. New Reality 4) Corollary
Social networks are more influential and are
differently segmented and layered
Sentries

26. New Reality 4) Corollary
Social networks are more influential and are
differently segmented and layered
Evaluators

27. New Reality 4) Corollary
Social networks are more influential and are
differently segmented and layered
Audience

28. New Reality 5) People’s attention zones have changed
• Continuous partial
attention to media
streams
• Immersion in deep
dives
• Info-snacking in free
moments

29. New reality 5) Corollary
People graze for info all day long

30. New Reality 6) Knowledge containers and displays are
changing in the age of the “metaverse”

31. New Reality 7) New divides are emerging based
on new tech literacies

32. New Reality 8) The future is uncertain
Your map is wrong!

33. New Reality 8) Corollaries
The architecture itself
Information policies
Social norms and attitudes

34. Therefore …
• … confront the existential question: What’s our
franchise?
• … what’s our mobile play?
• … what’s our social play (natural alliances)?
• … prepare for disruptions …
… from “social” actors who aren’t looking for money or
who don’t like current business models or credentials
… from new analysts in the world of “big data”
… from tech companies that see themselves as
publishers/creators/curators

35. Thank you!