In 2008, radio is mentioned as the medium “you turn to first to learn about new music” by about half of consumers (49%), with internet at 25%, according to Edison Media Research. In 2002, radio was mentioned by nearly two-thirds of consumers (63%) and only 9% mentioned internet.

18% of consumers have ever listened to an audio podcast; up from 13% in 2007. 9% have listened to an audio podcast in the past month (an estimated 23 mln) , according to Edison Media Research. For the third straight year, awareness of XM and Sirius hovers around 60%. 16% nonsubscribers are very/somewhat likely to sign up for satellite radio in next year.

72% of teens who write for personal reasons say they usually write longhand, similar to the 65% of teens who usually write by hand for school, according to Pew Internet Project. However, teens are much more likely to write only by hand when doing non-school writing. 32% of teens never use a computer at all when writing for their own personal enjoyment; by contrast, just 9% do their school writing by hand only. Whites and older teens are again the most prolific computer users when it comes to nonschool writing.

The weekly online radio audience increased in the past year to an estimated 33 mln. 13% of the US population age 12 and older have listened to online radio in the past week; up from 11% (approximately 29 mln) in 2007, according to Edison Media Research. On a weekly basis, online radio reaches more than one in seven 25-54-year olds (15%). AM/FM radio continues to have a big impact on people’s lives. 21% of consumers said radio is the audio platform/device that has the biggest impact on people’s lives, second only to mobile phones (33%).

The number of social network users in five major Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico) more than doubled from January 2007 to to January 2008 - it was up 103% - according to an Analytics 2.0. During the same period, the number of US Hispanic and Puerto Rican social-network users increased 48%.

The number of internet users in the five major countries is approaching 46.3 mln, a 16% increase from the 39.8 mln in January 2007, according to an Analytics 2.0. The number of Puerto Rican and US Hispanic internet users has grown at the same rate, bringing the total to 66 mln. 60% of total internet users in the five major countries of the region are using one of the above-noted social networks, whereas 77% of internet users in Puerto Rico and the US Hispanic market are doing so.

The main social networks of the five-country LatAm region, by number of users, according to an Analytics 2.0: Orkut - 12.9 mln (up 27% from 10.1 million in 2007); Sonico - 7.3 mln (Sonico launched during the second half of 2007); hi5 - 4.2 mln (up 72% from 2.2 mln in January 2007); MySpace - around 3 mln (13 mln users in all markets analyzed); Facebook - 2.2 mln (up 4,152% from the January 2007 count of 52,000).

41% of weekly online radio listeners report having an online social networking profile (compared with 24% of the total 12+ population); 37% visit social networking sites nearly once per day or more, according to Edison Media Research.

Most internet users age 45 or older say content online serves less their needs and interests than those of younger persons, according to a Burst Media. 67.7% of internet users age 45 or older say their daily routine would be disrupted if their online access was taken away for one week (42.9% say “significantly”) - with “the oldest segment looking very much like the youngest segment”. Some 43.9% of those age 55+ surveyed say there would be significant disruption in their lives if internet access were taken away.