:: Netwoman ::

:: Thursday, May 17, 2007 ::

Six of ten video gamers play online
Tuesday, 15 May 2007 - Digital Home

Among all video gamers, 62% report playing games online, according to an NPD report which covered gamers’ perspectives on online gaming via PC, console and portable systems.

The top three genres played online are card, puzzle, arcade and word games (44%), family-oriented games (25%) and RPG/MMOGs (19%). Online gambling is also very popular with 17% of gamers preferring online gambling/casino games such as poker.


According to the report, which questioned over 11,000 U.S. gamers in January, a significant percentage of online gamers are female (42%). Overall, online gamers are most likely to be age 25-44, console owners, casual gamers (defined as players of card, puzzle, word and arcade games), and live in mid income households ($35K-<$75K). “With the intense interest on the success of MMORPG's recently, it might surprise some that the audience for online games is still largely the casual player,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Understanding exactly who is playing what and where is crucial for the industry to realize the potential revenues that online revenues represent for future growth.” Among video game systems used for online gaming, Xbox 360 has the highest percentage of use (54%). Among the 29% who use a video game system to play games online, the majority (54%) uses Xbox 360, followed by PS2 (45%). Relative to other system user bases, Nintendo Wii users are most inclined (76%) to be online gamers. Xbox 360 and PS3 users are next in line, each with about 7 in 10 reporting that they game online. When it comes to hours per week spent playing games online, Xbox 360 tops the list with a mean of 7.1 hours per week. PS3 comes in second place with 6.1 hours, and PC/Mac users spend 5.8 hours a week on online gaming using a PC/Mac. All other systems are under four hours a week for online game play.

:: Netwoman 12:05 AM [+] ::
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8% of American adults are creative participants in cyberspace

I'm an Omnivore - but I'm not in my twenties...
New Pew Report: A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users

Members of this group use their extensive suite of technology tools to do an enormous range of things online, on the go, and with their cell phones. With their deep and varied tech appetites, they are called the Omnivores. You might see them watching video on an iPod. They might talk about their video games or their participation in virtual worlds the way their parents talked about their favorite TV episode a generation ago. Much of this chatter will take place via instant messages, texting on a cell phone, or on personal blogs.

Omnivores are Web 2.0 devotees. They are highly engaged with video online and digital content. Between blogging, maintaining their Web pages, remixing digital content, or posting their creations to their websites, they are creative participants in cyberspace. When the next popular user-generated fashion comes along, Omnivores are likely to testdrive it. One might even invent it. Members of this group are confident in their ability to manage the flow of electronic information that is all around them. Indeed, ICTs are at the center of how they connect to their friends and express themselves to the world around them. Most Omnivores are in their twenties and nearly all have high-speed connections available at home or work.

Contours of Communication: Summary of Findings at a Glance
Omnivores: 8% of American adults constitute the most active participants in the information society, consuming information goods and services at a high rate and using them as a platform for participation and self-expression.
The Connectors: 7% of the adult population surround themselves with technology and use it to connect with people and digital content. They get a lot out of their mobile devices and participate actively in online life. Lackluster Veterans: 8% of American adults make up a group who are not at all passionate about their abundance of modern ICTs. Few like the intrusiveness their gadgets add to their lives and not many see ICTs adding to their personal productivity.
Productivity Enhancers: 9% of American adults happily get a lot of things done with information technology, both at home and at work.
Mobile Centrics: 10% of the general population are strongly attached to their cell phones and take advantage of a range of mobile applications.
Connected but Hassled: 9% of American adults fit into this group. They have invested in a lot of technology, but the connectivity is a hassle for them.
Inexperienced Experimenters: 8% of adults have less ICT on hand than others. They feel competent in dealing with technology, and might do more with it if they had more.
Light but Satisfied: 15% of adults have the basics of information technology, use it infrequently and it does not register as an important part of their lives.
Indifferents: 11% of adults have a fair amount of technology on hand, but it does not play a central role in their daily lives.
Off the Net: 15% of the population, mainly older Americans, is off the modern information network.

Source: Horrigan, John B. A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users.
Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 2007.

:: Netwoman 11:03 PM [+] ::
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The Personal is Political: Feminist Blogging and Virtual Consciousness-Raising

New article that I wrote that's been published at Scholar & Feminist Online
Volume 5, Number 2, Spring 2007

At a time in feminist history when feminism itself has been called fragmented, disjointed, or even dead, blogging is an important way for feminist thinkers to connect and build community and to advocate for social change. While we have to remember that technology is laden with ideological baggage, feminists of all tenets have the opportunity to carve out a virtual space for themselves, in what I call "feminist virtual consciousness-raising." The ubiquity of the Internet has located feminist advocacy and consciousness-raising within the virtual world. Blogs are a useful tool to connect with not only academics and community activists, but also the "everyday" people whose experiences are often ignored or silenced.

:: Netwoman 11:40 AM [+] ::
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