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Led by Facebook, Twitter, Global Time Spent on Social Media Sites up 82% Year over Year
This blog post refers to up to date information on time spent on social network websites worldwide. It also gives a 3 year trend of how hours and numbers of people world wide has increased over the years.
In December 2009, on average, consumers spent 5.5 hours a month on social networking sites, a 82% rise from the previous year. Also found to be rising was the traffic generated by these sites which has grown over the three year period studied. ‘Globally, social networks and blogs are the most popular online category when ranked by average time spent’ (December 2009)
‘Facebook was the number 1 global social networking destination in December and 67% of global social media users visited the site during the month’ This equates to 206.9 million unique visitors, which is a huge amount and is a massive number when compared to the total number of social network users, which is at 307.4 million users.
From December 2007 to December 2009, the number of consumers has risen from 210.9 million to the previously mentioned 307.4 million users. A massive jump, which shows the huge rise in popularity in the use of social networking sites. This jump may have something to do with the demise of Bebo and Myspace and the rise of sites such as Twitter.com which have taken off.
American figures show that consumers are continuing to spend more and more time on social networking sites and blogs with ‘total minutes increasing 210% year-over-year and the average time per person increasing 143% year-over-year in December 2009’. For Facebook and Twitter.com specifically ‘outpaced the overall growth for the category, increasing 200% and 368%, respectively.’
Twitter.com itself is still the ‘fastest-growing in December 2009 in terms of unique visitors, increasing 579% year-over-year, from 2.7 million unique visitors in December 2008 to 18.1 million in December 2009’ This rise is probably due to the usability of Twitter.com but also the fact that many famous icons like Steven Fry and Jonathan Ross as well as hundreds more use Twitter on a day to day basis, making it very appealing for fans to get involved with just to get to know what their idols are doing.
To prove the dominance of Facebook and Twitter, out of the 5 sites included in a bar graph plotting visitor numbers over the three years, they are the only sites that have grown considerably each year with Facebook taking massive leaps each year.
When the findings are separated up into separate countries, Australia has the highest average time spent per person on Social Media sites in December 2009 with an average of 6.52 hours spent in that month. The United States spends an average of 6.09 hours per month on these sites and close behind is the United Kingdom with 6.08 hours per month
This blog provides good numerical data and because it is over a three year period, despite not covering 2010 gives a good idea of the trending that Facebook and Twitter are a part of.
Monday, 22 November 2010
Dissertation summary- Ofcom Social Network Report
Ofcom Social Networking Report
A quantitative and qualitative research report into attitudes, behaviours and use.
The report by Ofcom, is the first of its type conducted by the communications regulator. The aim of the conducted research was to ‘ understand how people are using social networking sites as well as their attitudes to this form of communication’
Their objectives regarding the report were to: ‘set social networking sites in the wilder media literacy, online and communications context; to profile the use of sites; and to investigate concerns about privacy and safety’
‘The rapid growth of social networking that has been observed over the last two or three years is indicative of its entry into mainstream culture and its integration into the daily lives of many people.’ Although, the report was published in April 2008, many of the topics covered by the paper are still relevant to the current social network despite current figures being inflated.
It is stated that ‘on average each adult with a social networking page or profile has profiles on 1.6 sites, and 39% of adults have profiles on two or more sites.’ The report states that the main social networking sites used are Facebook, Bebo, and Myspace. Although in the current day Facebook is one of, if not, the biggest social networking sites in the world, Myspace has receded into the background being populated by mainly music artists and Bebo has pretty much fallen off the map. In their places, Youtube, Flickr and Twitter have taken over and diversify the market of social networking.
At the time of publication, statistics were as follows,
• 25% of ‘member communities audience’ i.e Facebook users, were 35-49 year olds.
• 18% of ‘member communities audience’ was populated by both 25-34 year olds and 50-64 year olds.
• Just 17% was populated by 17-24 year olds.
As of January this year, figures only referring to American Facebook users show that the main audience for the site are between the ages of 18 and 44. Making it seem that audiences for social networking site are becoming increasingly younger year by year.
The report shows a trend that has become apparent in the last year or so that Facebook was asserting its dominance over the Social Network. It also shows a relationship between the spreading of broadband and increased use of Social Networking sites as well as the increased use by persons who are between the ages of 14 and 25 implying that it is a fashionable thing to be partaking in.
Overall, I feel this report, although out of date due to the speed at which Social Networking has evolved, is a worthwhile text to use, mostly to track the evolution between the present and the past (2008) in regards to target audience ages and the differences between the past reach of networks and the current.
A quantitative and qualitative research report into attitudes, behaviours and use.
The report by Ofcom, is the first of its type conducted by the communications regulator. The aim of the conducted research was to ‘ understand how people are using social networking sites as well as their attitudes to this form of communication’
Their objectives regarding the report were to: ‘set social networking sites in the wilder media literacy, online and communications context; to profile the use of sites; and to investigate concerns about privacy and safety’
‘The rapid growth of social networking that has been observed over the last two or three years is indicative of its entry into mainstream culture and its integration into the daily lives of many people.’ Although, the report was published in April 2008, many of the topics covered by the paper are still relevant to the current social network despite current figures being inflated.
It is stated that ‘on average each adult with a social networking page or profile has profiles on 1.6 sites, and 39% of adults have profiles on two or more sites.’ The report states that the main social networking sites used are Facebook, Bebo, and Myspace. Although in the current day Facebook is one of, if not, the biggest social networking sites in the world, Myspace has receded into the background being populated by mainly music artists and Bebo has pretty much fallen off the map. In their places, Youtube, Flickr and Twitter have taken over and diversify the market of social networking.
At the time of publication, statistics were as follows,
• 25% of ‘member communities audience’ i.e Facebook users, were 35-49 year olds.
• 18% of ‘member communities audience’ was populated by both 25-34 year olds and 50-64 year olds.
• Just 17% was populated by 17-24 year olds.
As of January this year, figures only referring to American Facebook users show that the main audience for the site are between the ages of 18 and 44. Making it seem that audiences for social networking site are becoming increasingly younger year by year.
The report shows a trend that has become apparent in the last year or so that Facebook was asserting its dominance over the Social Network. It also shows a relationship between the spreading of broadband and increased use of Social Networking sites as well as the increased use by persons who are between the ages of 14 and 25 implying that it is a fashionable thing to be partaking in.
Overall, I feel this report, although out of date due to the speed at which Social Networking has evolved, is a worthwhile text to use, mostly to track the evolution between the present and the past (2008) in regards to target audience ages and the differences between the past reach of networks and the current.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
essay.post
Co-Design and Design
Robert Butler
Product Design
‘Co-Design is inclusive, encompassing collaborative, co-operative, concurrent, human-centred, participatory, socio-technical and community design among others.’ (Eliab Z. Opiyo; Imre Horváth, CoDesign, 2008)
Co-Design is different from traditional forms of design in the sense that the stakeholder for the which the product/service is being designed for is actively involved in the whole design process from start to finish giving ideas and experiences, as opposed to traditional design practice where a stakeholder asks for something and a designer comes back with a finished item. Co-Design is a technique that should, in theory, make products and services more meaningful to the customer, giving them what they actually need, rather than what designers may think they need. ‘(Clients) view and rate the ideas, typically achieving over 90% consensus.’
(www.co-designgroup.com, n.d,) thus proving success rates of the co-design process in both idea generation stage and the final proposition are very high, and greatly successful.
The concept of Co-design has been around for a long time. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a philosopher and is said to be the first person to say that the judgements we make in situations are due to similar previous experience(s). ‘Kant held that the most interesting and useful varieties of human knowledge rely upon prior judgments, which are, in turn, possible only when the mind determines the conditions of its own experience.’ (www.philosophypages.com, 2006). This is the basic theory used by co-designers, that everyone has their own opinion and experiences regarding products and actions relating to products, and that these experiences/ideas should be used to design objects, which solve problems from previous models, or to generate new models.
The co-design as we know it today started to evolve and appear in the late 70’s/ early 80’s. Stanley King, Dip.Arch. (Leics), M.Arch. (UBC), MRAIC) is claimed to have been the inventor of the current day Co-design process during the period of 1969-1973 during his postgraduate research at the University of British Columbia. He was also principle author of the design book ‘Co-Design - A Process of Design Participation’, 1989
In 1979, he founded ‘The Co-Design Group’ with Merinada Conley, Dip.Arch.Tech. (Hons), A.Sc.T., M.EDes.(Arch), MRAIC; Bill Latimer, B.Arch., B.Eng., MAAA, MRAIC and Drew Ferrari, Dip.Arch.Tech (Hons).,BES (Arch). All of whom were also co-authors of the book ‘Co-Design - A Process of Design Participation’, 1989.
The Co-Design group is an informal association of architects based in Vancouver and Calgary who have completed well over 300 public design workshops in small towns and revitalised inner city areas.
King and ‘The Co-Design Group’ are the first to bring co-design into the form we see now today, the concept may have been further developed over the years but the same principles apply still today.
The co-design as we know it today started to evolve and appear in the late 70’s/ early 80’s. Stanley King, Dip.Arch. (Leics), M.Arch. (UBC), MRAIC) is claimed to have been the inventor of the current day Co-design process during the period of 1969-1973 during his postgraduate research at the University of British Columbia. He was also principle author of the design book ‘Co-Design - A Process of Design Participation’, 1989
In 1979, he founded ‘The Co-Design Group’ with Merinada Conley, Dip.Arch.Tech. (Hons), A.Sc.T., M.EDes.(Arch), MRAIC; Bill Latimer, B.Arch., B.Eng., MAAA, MRAIC and Drew Ferrari, Dip.Arch.Tech (Hons).,BES (Arch). All of whom were also co-authors of the book ‘Co-Design - A Process of Design Participation’, 1989.
The Co-Design group is an informal association of architects based in Vancouver and Calgary who have completed well over 300 public design workshops in small towns and revitalised inner city areas.
King and ‘The Co-Design Group’ are the first to bring co-design into the form we see now today, the concept may have been further developed over the years but the same principles apply still today.
 |
| Traditional Design Practice, Clients only see what is being done when they are given a chance to see, and don’t have any design input. Designers design what they think clients want/need. |
 |
| The Co-Design process, Designers take a selection of the target audience and involve them in the design process throughout. The product/service created should then be appealing to rest of the target audience. |
Within the design industry itself, creating a product, which is designed by its eventual purchasers, is an overall cost effective solution. ‘Most software design decisions are typically made during the first 10% of the design and development process and can determine 90% of a product's cost and performance’ (Aaron Marcus and Associates, n.d.) Involving clients from the start of the design process may increase costs slightly compared with traditional techniques, but it will make sure that there are no expensive mistakes caused by lack of contact with this target market. ‘The public needs a language that can give its creativity a focus and help individuals turn their intuition and knowledge into a workable idea. That language must also be able to bridge the gap between the vision of the common resident and the technical thinking and jargon of the architects’ (King S, Conley M, Latimer B and Ferrari D, Co-design: A process of design to participation, Jan 1989) This extract implies that if you offer potential customers a chance to give their ideas and knowledge, of which they are not able to put to full use, to designers, they can then translate their ideas into concepts and prototypes. The clients then feel involved in the design process and are more likely to invest in that product and possibly more likely to invest in products from that manufacturer in the future.
Co-design is not a practice that is only usable in specific design areas; it can be used in most, if not all, design specialties. One of the areas in which it is a strong is service design, particularly regarding public facilities/amenities in towns for example. Residents of areas will most likely have strong feelings, positive or negative, about these facilities/amenities which should provide lots of information and create a lot of ideas. In product design, co-design can be used to find a niche in a very tight market, i.e design of mp3 players.
Co-design is not just another on of the many techniques which are used in the design process, it is a very effective
Co-design is not a practice that is only usable in specific design areas; it can be used in most, if not all, design specialties. One of the areas in which it is a strong is service design, particularly regarding public facilities/amenities in towns for example. Residents of areas will most likely have strong feelings, positive or negative, about these facilities/amenities which should provide lots of information and create a lot of ideas. In product design, co-design can be used to find a niche in a very tight market, i.e design of mp3 players.
Co-design is not just another on of the many techniques which are used in the design process, it is a very effective
Bibliography
Skrivener, S.ed., 2008.CoDesign International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts. Taylor & Francis.
Garth Kemerling, 2006, Philosophy Pages. [online] Available at http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/kant.htm [Accessed Oct 2010]
King, S. Conley, M. Latimer, B and Ferrari, D 1989. Co-design: A Process of Design to Participation, Van Nostrand Reinhold.
The Co-Design Group, 1979-, The Co-Design Group. [online] Available at http://www.co-designgroup.com/group.html [Accessed Oct 2010]
Neubloc, 2009. Rightsource Software Design & Development. [online] Available at http://www.neubloc.com/news.asp?nid=5 [Accessed Oct 2010]
Sarah Drummond, 2010. CO-DESIGN REALLY ISNT THAT NEW,. [online] Available at http://sarahdrummond.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/co-design-isnt-really-that-new/
[Accessed Oct 2010]
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