From Center for market intelligence
Internet & Information Services
Feature Reports
Internet, Broadband, and Cell Phone Statistics
Pew Internet & American Life Project, January 5, 2010
In a national survey between November 30 and December 27, 2009, Pew finds:
74% of American adults (ages 18 and older) use the internet -- a slight drop from our survey in April 2009, which did not include Spanish interviews. At that time we found that 79% of English-speaking adults use the internet. 60% of American adults use broadband connections at home – a drop that is within the margin of error from 63% in April 2009. 55% of American adults connect to the internet wirelessly, either through a WiFi or WiMax connection via their laptops or through their handheld device like a smart phone. This figure did not change in a statistically significant way during 2009.
Latinos Online, 2006-2008
Pew Internet & American Life Project, December 22, 2009
The Pew Research Center's Hispanic Project and Internet Project combined forces to write an in-depth look at internet penetration across racial and ethnic categories in the U.S.
How Much Information?
University of California, San Diego, December 9, 2009
In 2008, Americans consumed information for about 1.3 trillion hours, an average of almost 12 hours per day. Consumption totaled 3.6 zettabytes and 10,845 trillion words, corresponding to 100,500 words and 34 gigabytes for an average person on an average day. A zettabyte is 10 to the 21st power bytes, a million million gigabytes. These estimates are from an analysis of more than 20 different sources of information, from very old (newspapers and books) to very new (portable computer games, satellite radio, and Internet video). Information at work is not included.
Startups Mine the Real-Time Web
MIT Technology Review, December 9, 2009
There's more to the real-time Web than just microblogging posts, social network updates, and up-to-the-minute news stories. Huge volumes of data are generated, behind the scenes, every time a person watches a video, clicks on an ad, or performs just about any other action online. And if this user-generated data can be processed rapidly, it could provide new ways to tailor the content on a website, in close to real time.
The World Is Digital
IEEE Computing, November/December 2009
Debate rages on as to whether the world is flat, spiky, or “post-American.” But all sides should be able to agree that IT is at the root of these transformations, and succeeding in a digital world requires knowledge and innovation.
Social Isolation and New Technology
Pew Internet & American ife Project, November 4, 2009
This report adds new insights to an ongoing debate about the extent of social isolation in America. A widely-reported 2006 study argued that since 1985 Americans have become more socially isolated, the size of their discussion networks has declined, and the diversity of those people with whom they discuss important matters has decreased. In particular, the study found that Americans have fewer close ties to those from their neighborhoods and from voluntary associations. Sociologists Miller McPherson, Lynn Smith-Lovin and Matthew Brashears suggest that new technologies, such as the internet and mobile phone, may play a role in advancing this trend.
Twitter and Status Updating, Fall 2009
Pew Internet & American Life Project, October 21, 2009
Some 19% of internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others. This represents a significant increase over previous surveys in December 2008 and April 2009, when 11% of internet users said they use a status-update service. Three groups of internet users are mainly responsible for driving the growth of this activity: social network website users, those who connect to the internet via mobile devices, and younger internet users – those under age 44.
Why Email No Longer Rules… And what that means for the way we communicate
Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2009
Email has had a good run as king of communications. But its reign is over. In its place, a new generation of services is starting to take hold—services like Twitter and Facebook and countless others vying for a piece of the new world. And just as email did more than a decade ago, this shift promises to profoundly rewrite the way we communicate—in ways we can only begin to imagine.
Turning the Tide: a Hands-on Look at Google's Wave
ars technica, September 29, 2009
Ars takes you inside of Google's bold vision for the future of Internet messaging with this hands-on look at Wave. Learn more about the experimental service, its underlying technology, and the opportunities that it will provide for third-party developers.
The Internet as a Diversion
Pew Internet & American Life Project, September 10, 2009
Three-quarters of online economic users--those Americans who use the internet to keep up with news about the economic recession or their own personal finances--go online to relax and take their minds off of the recession, according to an April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Listening to music and watching online videos are among the most common of the activities we evaluated; roughly half of all online economic users have done each of these activities to relax. Young Americans in particular go online in great numbers to relax by watching videos, listening to music, playing games or chatting with friends.
The Internet and Civic Engagement
Pew internet & American Life Project, September 1, 2009
Political and civic involvement have long been dominated by those with high levels of income and education, leading some advocates to hope that internet-based engagement might alter this pattern. However, a new report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that the internet is not changing the fundamental socio-economic character of civic engagement in America. When it comes to online activities such as contributing money, contacting a government official or signing an online petition, the wealthy and well-educated continue to lead the way. Still, there are hints that the new forms of civic engagement anchored in blogs and social networking sites could alter long-standing patterns. Some 19% of internet users have posted material online about political or social issues or used a social networking site for some form of civic or political engagement. And this group of activists is disproportionately young.
Data Visualization: Stories for the Information Age
BusinessWeek, August 12, 2009
For artists and designers, data visualization is a new frontier of self-expression, powered by the proliferation of information and the evolution of available tools. For enterprise, it's a platform for showcasing products and services in the context of the cultural interaction that surrounds them, reflecting consumers' increasing demand for corporate transparency.
Crowdsourcing the Semantics of Numbers with True #
ars technica, August 7, 2009
Numbers are the lifeblood of science and engineering, but it can be hard to appreciate what a number represents without extensive context. A company called True # wants to change that by providing a way to embed the semantic context of a number in commonly used documents.
The Internet and the Recession
Pew Internet & American Life Project, July 15, 2009
Some 69% of all Americans have used the internet to cope with the recession as they hunt for bargains, jobs, ways to upgrade their skills, better investment strategies, housing options, and government benefits. That amounts to 88% of internet users. The internet ranks high among sources of information and advice that people are seeking during hard times, especially when it comes to their personal finances and economic circumstances.
How Information Technology Can Enable 21st Century SchoolsIT
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, July 2009
In recent years, the information technology (IT) revolution has transformed American industry—leading to new types of work processes and business organizations, and increased productivity and consumer innovations—but by and large, this game-changer has bypassed America’s schools. Virtually all K-12 schools in the country are connected to the Internet, and the student-to-personal computer ratio has declined steadily.
Mozilla's Crowdsourcing Mystique
BusinessWeek, July 1, 2009
As the maker of the Firefox Web browser relies on volunteer developers, such for-profit companies as Google and LinkedIn strain to copy the Mozilla model.
And Data for All: Why Obama's Geeky New CIO Wants to Put All Gov't Info Online
Wired, June 18, 2009
The Obama administration's most radical idea may also be its geekiest: Make nearly every hidden government spreadsheet and buried statistic available online, all in one place. For anyone to see.
Panel Report: Opening Up Government to Better Data
ars technica, June 3, 2009
Government statistics may sound like a boring topic, but the numbers gathered and crunched by the US government are at the very heart of raging debates on climate change, healthcare, and education. The Obama admin aims to change how those statistics are gathered and shared in the Internet age.
Know Privacy
UC Berkeley, School of Information, June 1, 2009
Online privacy and behavioral profiling are of growing concern among both consumers and government officials. This report examines both the data handling practices of popular websites and the concerns of consumers in an effort to identify problematic practices. The data for this report was pulled from six domains, three regarding actual website practices and three regarding user expectations. The policies of the 50 most visited websites are analyzed to better understand disclosures about the types of data collected about users, how that information is used, and with whom it is shared.
Put Ad on Web. Count Clicks. Revise.
The New York Times, May 30, 2009
The shift to data-based campaigns is forcing marketers to learn new skills and drawing a new breed of worker to Madison Avenue. While most data executives now in the field came from media backgrounds, they are recruiting Wall Street math geniuses because the job requires hourly adjustments in strategy based on numbers.
Cyberspace Policy Review
United States Government, May 29, 2009
The President directed a 60-day, comprehensive, “clean-slate” review to assess U.S. policies and structures for cybersecurity. Cybersecurity policy includes strategy, policy, and standards regarding the security of and operations in cyberspace, and encompasses the full range of threat reduction, vulnerability reduction, deterrence, international engagement, incident response, resiliency, and recovery policies and activities, including computer network operations, information assurance, law enforcement, diplomacy, military, and intelligence missions as they relate to the security and stability of the global information and communications infrastructure. This paper summarizes the review team’s conclusions and outlines the beginning of the way forward towards a reliable, resilient, trustworthy digital infrastructure for the future.
Online Classifieds
Pew Internet & American Life Project, May 22, 2009
The number of online adults who have used online classified ads has more than doubled in the past four years. Almost half (49%) of internet users say they have ever used online classified sites, compared with 22% of online adults who had done so in 2005.
On any given day about a tenth of internet users (9%) visit online classified sites, up from 4% in 2005. These are among the main findings of an April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project survey. They highlight the growing importance of such sites to internet users and reflect the changes in the audience for classified ads – both those who place them and those who make purchases – that have devastated a key revenue source for traditional newspapers.
As the Economy Contracts, the Digital Universe Expands
EMC & IDC, May 18, 2009
We are in a global economic crisis, and everything seems to have fallen – the stock
markets, home prices, bank assets, and consumer confidence.
About the only growth rate that hasn’t gone negative since the recession began is
the creation of new digital information. People are still taking pictures, making
phone calls, sending emails, blogging, and putting up videos on YouTube.
Enterprises are still capturing daily transaction records, adding to their data
warehouses. Governments are still requiring more information be kept and
protected, forcing the migration to digital TV, and taking surveillance photos of their
citizens.
The Global Online Media Landscape: Identifying Opportunities in a Challenging Market
Nielsen, April 2009
Discussing the trajectory of the online medium in the midst of an historic economic downturn is a perilous business. Assaulted every day with downward-facing red arrows, many of the indicators concerning all things digital veer to the negative. But even the most cynical observer has to be swayed by positive developments that defi ne the longer-term opportunities for the online medium and the e-commerce channel.
Yahoo's Taskmaster
Fortune, April 16, 2009
Carol Bartz is shrewd, strong-minded, blunt, and disciplined. (Don't even think about leaking company information!) But can this no-nonsense tech veteran come up with a plan to save Yahoo?
The Internet's Role in Campaign 2008
Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 15, 2009
Some 74% of internet users--representing 55% of the entire adult population--went online in 2008 to get involved in the political process or to get news and information about the election. This marks the first time that a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey has found that more than half of the voting-age population used the internet to get involved in the political process during an election year.
digital outlook report '09
Razorfish, March 2009
The Digital Outlook Report helps one understand consumer behavior and make better-informed decisions about where to invest in digital channels. The report also discusses how and where Razorfish makes its own digital buys on behalf of its clients, which analysts, bloggers, and media consider an industry indicator.
2008 Internet Crime Report
Internet Crime Complaint Center, March 27, 2009
The 2008
Internet Crime Report is the eighth annual compilation of information on complaints received and referred by the IC3 to law enforcement or regulatory agencies for appropriate action. From January 1, 2008 – December 31, 2008, the IC3 website received 275,284 complaint submissions.
The Internet Industry Is on a Cloud -- Whatever That May Mean
Available with free subscription
The Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2009
While almost everybody in the tech industry seems to have a cloud-themed project, few agree on the term's definition.
The Mobile Difference
Pew Internet & American Life Project, March 25, 2009
Some 39% of Americans have positive and improving attitudes about their mobile communication devices, which in turn draws them further into engagement with digital resources – on both wireless and wireline platforms. Mobile connectivity is now a powerful differentiator among technology users. Those who plug into the information and communications world while on-the-go are notably more active in many facets of digital life than those who use wires to jack into the internet and the 14% of Americans who are off the grid entirely.
Happy 20th Birthday, World Wide Web
Scientific American, March 13, 2009
CERN on March 13 celebrates the 20th anniversary of a proposal entitled, "Information Management: A Proposal," by Tim Berners-Lee, which would become the blueprint for the World Wide Web. This collection of thirteen articles gives detailed coverage of the internet's 20 year trajectory.
CERN on March 13 celebrates the 20th anniversary of a proposal entitled, "Information Management: A Proposal," by Tim Berners-Lee, which would become the blueprint for the World Wide Web.
Twenty Years of the World Wide Web: What's the Score?
The Economist, March 12, 2009
Science inspired the world wide web. Two decades on, the web has repaid the compliment by changing science.
Mapping a New, Mobile Internet
BusinessWeek, February 26, 2009
A nascent industry involving the likes of Google and Nokia is pinpointing the movements and behaviors of millions of cell-phone users.
Do We Need a New Internet?
The New York Times, February 14, 2009
What a new Internet might look like is still widely debated, but one alternative would, in effect, create a “gated community” where users would give up their anonymity and certain freedoms in return for safety. Today that is already the case for many corporate and government Internet users. As a new and more secure network becomes widely adopted, the current Internet might end up as the bad neighborhood of cyberspace. You would enter at your own risk and keep an eye over your shoulder while you were there.
Generations Online in 2009
Pew Internet & American Life Project, January 28, 2009
Contrary to the image of Generation Y as the “Net Generation,” internet users in their 20s do not dominate every aspect of online life. Generation X is the most likely group to bank, shop, and look for health information online. Boomers are just as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online. And even Silent Generation internet users are competitive when it comes to email.
Internet Safety Technical Task Force Releases Final Report on Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, January 14, 2009
The Internet Safety Technical Task Force was created in February 2008 in accordance with the Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Safety announced in January 2008 by the Attorneys General Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking and MySpace. The scope of the Task Force's inquiry was to consider those technologies that industry and end users - including parents - can use to help keep minors safer on the Internet.
Down Payment on Our Digital Future: Stimulus Policies for the 21st-Century Economy
Free Press, December 2008
In the past, such stimulus efforts traditionally focused on highways and utilities, and these types of projects certainly belong in the new stimulus package. However, the incoming Obama administration and Congress must look beyond the interstate highways and start investing in the information superhighway. Just as President Eisenhower’s economic policies brought Americans a national transportation system in the 1950s, President Obama’s can connect Americans to a communications
network fast becoming the foundation of the 21st-century economy.
The Future of the Internet III
Pew Internet & American Life Project, December 13, 2008
A survey of experts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, and the structure of the Internet itself improves. They disagree about whether this will lead to more social tolerance, more forgiving human relations, or better home lives.
Obama's Online Opportunities: What Our Research Suggests about Where President-Elect Obama's Technology Policy May Lead
Pew Internet & American Life Project, December 4, 2008
There is no shortage of suggestions to the incoming Obama administration about what to do about communications policy in the United States. The body of research from the Pew Internet Project, dating to 2000, indicates that online Americans might have one more suggestion: Make sure the internet remains a place where users define what it means to be digitally connected.
A Fairer, Faster Internet Protocol
ieee Spectrum, December 2008
The Internet is founded on a very simple premise: shared communications links are more efficient than dedicated channels that lie idle much of the time. And so we share. We share local area networks at work and neighborhood links from home. And then we share again—at any given time, a terabit backbone cable is shared among thousands of folks surfing the Web, downloading videos, and talking on Internet phones. But there’s a profound flaw in the protocol that governs how people share the Internet’s capacity. The protocol allows you to seem to be polite, even as you elbow others aside, taking far more resources than they do.
Why Can't Microsoft Make Money Online?
Fortune, November 26, 2008
Struggle? You don't normally think of that word applying to the company Bill Gates founded. But there it is: Microsoft, one of the most aggressively competitive, brainiac-attracting, technologically superior, and oh, yes, cash-gushingly profitable companies of all time, can't for the life of it make a dime on the Internet.
Symantec Report on the Underground Economy
Symantec, November 24, 2008
The Symantec Report on the Underground Economy examines activity on underground economy servers observed by Symantec between July 1st, 2007 and June 30th, 2008. It includes analysis and discussion of the goods and services advertised, advertisers participating in the economy, the servers and channels that host the trading, and a snapshot of piracy activity observed.
Living and Learning with New Media:Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning, November 2008
This white paper summarizes the results of a three-year ethnographic study, funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, examining young people’s participation in the new media ecology. It represents a condensed version of a longer treatment of the project findings.i The study was motivated by two primary research questions: How are new media being
integrated into youth practices and agendas? How do these practices change the dynamics of youth-adult negotiations over literacy, learning, and authoritative knowledge?
Internet Interrupted: Why Architectural Limitations Will Fracture the 'Net
Nemertes Research, November 2008
This year, we revisit our original study, update the data and our model, and extend the study to look beyond physical bandwidth issues to assess the impact of potential logical constraints. Our conclusion? The situation is worse than originally thought!
The Durable Internet: Preserving Network Neutrality without Regulation
CATO Institute, November 12, 2008
In recent years, self-styled "network neutrality" activists have pushed for legislation to prevent network owners from undermining the end-to end principle. Although the concern is understandable, such legislation would be premature. Physical ownership of internet infrastructure does not translate into a practical ability to control its use. Regulations are unnecessary because even in the absence of robust broadband competition, network owners are likely to find deviations from the end-to-end principle unprofitable.
Networked Families
Pew Internet & American Life Project, October 19, 2008
American families are using a wide range of communication media to keep in contact with each other. Married couples with minor children stand out because they have higher rates of internet and cell phone usage, computer ownership and broadband adoption than other household configurations.
Digital Quality of Life: Understanding the Personal and Social Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution
The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, October 1, 2008
This report shows how IT is the key enabler of many, if not most, of today’s key innovations and improvements in our lives and society—from better education and health care, to a cleaner and more energy-efficient environment, to safer and more secure communities and nations.
One Key Fits All
Available by free subscription
The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2008
So many Web sites, so many user names, so many passwords. OpenID may be the solution.
Networked Workers
Pew Internet & American Life Project, September 24, 2008
Just over half of American adults (53%) say that they are currently employed with full or part-time work. Among those who are employed, 62% could be considered “Networked Workers” who use the internet or email at their workplace. While working Americans largely hold positive views about the role of information and
communications technology (ICT) in their lives, many say there are tradeoffs in being networked. On the one hand, they cite the benefits of increased connectivity and
flexibility that the internet and all of their various gadgets afford them at work. However, many workers say these tools have added stress and new demands to their lives.
Akamai Report: State of the Internet 2nd Quarter 2008
Akamai, September 2008
During the second quarter of 2008, Akamai observed attack traffic originating from 139 unique countries around the world. Japan and the United States were the two largest attack traffic sources, accounting for over 50% of observed traffic in total. Akamai observed attack traffic targeted at over 400 unique network ports. Many of the ports that saw the highest levels of attack traffic were targeted by worms, viruses, and bots that spread across the Internet several years ago. In addition, "SQL injection" Web site hacks continued to spread, infecting hundreds of thousands of Web pages.
China's Internet Culture Goes Unchecked, for Now
Available by free subscription
The Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2008
While the Chinese government keeps a tight grip on Internet news and political discussion here, it has done little to prevent online defamation and invasions of personal privacy. Now, as the national legislature looks to tighten privacy laws, a Beijing lawsuit has focused the question of whether China's freewheeling online culture has gone too far. The suit was prompted by the suicide in December of a woman who had been blogging about her husband's alleged affair. Her death prompted an outpouring of vitriol against the husband, Wang Fei, who has sued two Chinese online companies and an individual for defamation and privacy violations.
The Meek Shall Inherit the Web
The Economist, September 4, 2008
Computing: In future, most new internet users will be in developing countries and will use mobile phones. Expect a wave of innovation.
Inside Chrome: The Secret Project to Crush IE and Remake the Web
Wired Magazine, September 2, 2008
When Microsoft's Internet Explorer and the codebase at the heart of Firefox were originally conceived, browsing was less complex. Now, however, functions that previously could be performed only on the desktop — email, spreadsheets, database management — are increasingly handled online. In the coming era of cloud computing, the Web will be much more than just a means of delivering content — it will be a platform in its own right. The problem with revamping existing browsers to accommodate this concept is that they have developed an ecology of add-on extensions (toolbars, RSS readers, etc.) that would be hopelessly disrupted by a radical upgrade. "As a Firefox developer, you love to innovate, but you're always worried that it means in the next version all the extensions will be broken," Fisher says. "And indeed, that's what happens." The conclusion was obvious: Only by building its own software could Google bring the browser into the cloud age and potentially trigger a spiral of innovation not seen since Microsoft and Netscape one-upped each other almost monthly.
Internet Traffic Begins to Bypass the U.S.
The New York Times, August 29, 2008
Data is increasingly flowing around the United States, which may have intelligence — and conceivably military — consequences.
Questioning the Coming Internet Clog
Telephony Online, August 5, 2008
Updating data collected from Internet exchanges around the world, professor Andrew Odlyzko, director of the University of Minnesota’s Interdisciplinary Digital Technology Center,reported late last week that Internet traffic rates in the US and globally are continuing to grow at a rate between 50% and 60% (largely unchanged from recent years) -- rapid growth that nonetheless belies dire predictions of an escalation that would clog today’s networks.
China's Digital Generations: The 570-Million-Hour Opportunity
The Boston Consulting Group, July 2008
This report examines the behaviors of urban Chinese consumers, many of whom are sophisticated and dedicated mobile-phone and Internet users. They have quickly adopted so-called Web 2.0 applications, which enable users to contribute and share content in creative ways.
How Global Should the Internet Be?
BusinessWeek, June 23, 2008
Making the Internet more global is proving far more difficult than anyone could have imagined, say some of the 1,900 government representatives and other stakeholders attending an ICANN conference in Paris, which runs June 23-26. A key issue on the agenda is finding a way for ICANN to extract itself finally from oversight by the U.S. Commerce Dept., a move that even some of the U.S.'s closest allies, including Canada and Italy, now support. A contract with the U.S. governmental agency expires in 2009, so a roadmap is now being hammered out for a more independent future.
OECD June Policy Brief: The Future of the Internet Economy
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, June 2008
Major changes are taking place in how we access the Internet and how we make use of it. As a result, the Internet’s reach, capabilities and potential achievements are high on the policy agenda in OECD and non-OECD countries. But are we making the most of what the Internet has to offer our economies and societies? What are likely future developments, and can we make sure they are positive ones?
The Seoul Declaration for the Future of the Internet Economy
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, June 18, 2008
This declaration, which came at the close of the OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy, affirms the commitment of OECD member countries to working together to stimulate innovation, competition and investment in information and communications technology. Participants agreed on the need for governments to work closely with business, civil society and technical experts on policies that promote competition, empower and protect consumers, and expand Internet access and use worldwide.
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
The Atlantic, July / August 2008
For me, as for others, the Net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind. The advantages of having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information are many, and they’ve been widely described and duly applauded. “The perfect recall of silicon memory,” Wired’s Clive Thompson has written, “can be an enormous boon to thinking.” But that boon comes at a price.
The Internet and the 2008 Election
Pew Internet & American Life Project, June 17, 2008
The 2008 election campaign has sparked unprecedented interest within the electorate. Throughout the spring, surveys by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press have found that roughly one-third of Americans have been following news about the primary campaign very closely—a level of interest often not usually reached until the peak of election season. Within this context, large numbers of Americans are not only going online to learn about the campaigns, but are also taking an active role in promoting online conversations about politics and spreading news and information about their candidate of choice or the race in general.
Who Will Rule The New Internet?
Time, June 4, 2008
Every major player in Techland wants to create the next great platform, of course. What's new here is that it's possible for any number of them to succeed. "Among the things that are different from the old status quo is the idea that one will win," says Marc Andreessen, who helped write the first widely adopted browser, Mosaic, which popularized the Web. The Internet is a much larger playing field than PC operating systems. "Trying to decide which will win," Andreessen adds, "is kind of like debating whether beef, chicken or lobster is going to win the market for food."
Growth Report: Google at Age 10
KM World, May 30, 2008
Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer suggested that Google was a one-trick pony. Google won its crown with online advertising. Since the day when Google’s founders made the decision to enter the online advertising business, Google changed from a quirky search engine to a revenue powerhouse.
Your Future Web Life
Forbes, May 20, 2008
Most of the biggest names in technology, from AT&T to Intel to Samsung, are betting billions that they can deliver all the information on the Internet--and then some---to your mobile devices. That would mean that just about any consumer device, from your cellphone to your MP3 player to your digital camera to your laptop, would serve up rich, multimedia data any time and any place, without annoying hiccups or pauses, and without wires. It's a future in which many devices in your home will touch the Web multiple times every day--whether you realize it or not.
IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report
PricewaterhouseCoopers, May 2008
Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on an ongoing basis, with results released quarterly, the “Internet Advertising Revenue Report”was initiated by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in 1996. This report utilizes data and information reported directly to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, in addition to information availablepublicly, by companies representing thousands of Web sites, in addition to other onlinead selling companies.
The Future of the Internet - And How to Stop It
Washington Post, May 29, 2008
This page provides the transcript of Jonathan Zittrain's, professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, discussion and Q&A about his new book, The Future of the Internet - And How to Stop It. It also includes the first installment of the new video series, Voices on Personal Technology, in which Zittrain responds to the question: Is Google a threat to free culture?.
IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, May 2008
Internet advertising revenues (“revenues”) in the United States totaled $21.2 billion for the full year 2007, with Q3 accounting for $5.3 billion and Q4 totaling $5.9 billion. Internet advertising revenues for the full year of 2007 increased 26 percent over 2006.
Internet Address Space: Economic Considerations in the Management of IPv4 and in the Deployment of IPv6
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, May 2008
This report provides an analysis of economic considerations associated with the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. It provides background analysis supporting the forthcoming ICCP-organised Ministerial-level meeting on The Future of the Internet Economy, to take place in Seoul, Korea on 17-18 June 2008.
Where Does Google Go Next?
Fortune, May 12, 2008
There's been an exodus of executive talent too: Its chief information officer, Douglas Merrill, just left. Several top people have gone to Facebook, most notably Sheryl Sandberg, who ran Google's automated ad sales, and Elliot Schrage, who ran PR. George Reyes, Google's CFO, announced his retirement last summer and has yet to be replaced. Employee turnover is the norm in Silicon Valley, especially at companies where early hires get rich enough to do whatever they want (and post-jackpot hires don't). For his part, Google CEO Eric Schmidt - who left Sun Microsystems for Novell and then Novell for Google - brushes off the effects of all those departures.
Will Closed Devices Like Apple's iPhone Murder the Web?
Newsweek, May 2, 2008
Jonathan Zittrain claims that the very thing that makes the Internet great--its "generative" or innovative nature--is being locked down in a new wave of closed devices like the iPhone, Xbox, TiVo and the OnStar system. Zittrain, cofounder of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, claims the Internet's ability to serve as an open platform for innovation is being undermined by these "tethered" toys that can't be easily modified by anyone except their vendors or selected partners.
IC3’s Internet Crime Report
Analyst Views, April 25, 2008
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently published its seventh annual Internet Crime Report. The organization works in partnership with the White Collar Crime Complaint Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and serves, “as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime.”
Writing, Technology and Teens
Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 24, 2008
Teens write a lot, but they do not think of their emails, instant and text messages as writing. This disconnect matters because teens believe good writing is an essential skill for success and that more writing instruction at school would help them.
Storm Clouds Looming for Internet, Experts Say
InfoWorld, April 17, 2008
FutureNet is an annual conference held to address communications services from the perspectives of enterprises, ISPs, and vendors. Its sponsor, Nemertes Research, made waves last year when it released a study that claimed that future Web growth would be slowed by inadequate investment in access-layer capacity. Additionally, the paper looked into other potential limits to Internet growth, including a lack of IP addresses and strains on routing tables. Both issues were hot topics of discussion at FutureNet, as panelists and speakers debated just how severe these challenges would be to Internet growth and what strategies ISPs and vendors should use to meet them.
Preparing Europe's Digital Future
Commission of the European Communities, April 17, 2008
During 2007, two years after the launch of i2010, the Commission reflected on whether its general approach remained valid and best suited to today's policy priorities for growth and jobs. The results were presented in April 2008: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) continue to be a major driver of economic and social modernisation. Today, businesses in the EU devote 20% of investment to ICTs, and the sector accounts for 26% of overall research expenditure. Moreover, 60% of basic public services are now fully available online and more than half of EU citizens use the Internet regularly.
Newspaper Advertising Drives Online Traffic, Consumer Purchasing
Newspaper Association of America, April 15, 2008
According to the study, among people who research products and services after seeing them advertised in newspapers, two-thirds (67 percent) use the Internet to find more information. Of that group, nearly 70 percent of consumers actually make a purchase following their additional research.
National Cyber Security Alliance Botnet Study
NCSA, April 2008
NCSA's study finds that consumers lack the knowledge on cyber criminals’ weapon of choice and the Internet’s fastest growing threat – botnets. The study also reveals that Americans are largely unaware their computer’s security plays a role in our nation's security and preventing online crime.
Yahoo!'s Striptease
Forbes, April 9, 2008
Yahoo! executives are willing to team up with competitors to craft a new future for their company--provided those competitors don't include Microsoft. But Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer still has a card to play: He's enlisted the support of Rupert Murdoch to create a partnership that would involve combining Yahoo!, Microsoft's MSN and News Corp. social-networking site MySpace. The news marks a surprising twist in the 2-month-old acquisition saga. What's clear: Yahoo! will soon be a different company. But precisely which industry leaders will become its partners is still very much up for debate.
The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008
World Economic Forum, April 2008
Under the theme Fostering Innovation through Networked Readiness, this year’s Report places a particular focus on the role of networked readiness in spurring innovation. Published for the seventh consecutive year with record coverage of 127 economies worldwide, the Report has become the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.
2007 Internet Crime Report
Internet Crime Complaint Center, April 2008
The 2007 Internet Crime Report is the seventh annual compilation of information on complaints received and referred by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to law enforcement or regulatory agencies for appropriate investigative action. From January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007, the IC3 website received 206,884 complaint submissions. This is a 0.3% decrease when compared to 2006 when 207,492 complaints were received. These filings were composed of fraudulent and non-fraudulent complaints primarily related to the Internet.
Symantec Global Internet Security Threat Report Trends for July–December 07
Symantec, April 2008
The Symantec Global Internet Security Threat Report provides a six-month update of worldwide Internet threat activity. It includes analysis of network-based attacks, a review of known vulnerabilities, and highlights of malicious code. It also assesses trends in phishing and spam activity. The report also provides protection and mitigation recommendations for these concerns. This volume covers the six month period from July 1 to December 31, 2007.
Virtual World Gets Another Life
Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2008
Not long ago, companies were racing to set up storefronts and showrooms in computer-generated environments such as Second Life. Few found big profits. But commercial interest in such simulations seems to be morphing, not diminishing. Rather than selling goods and services to users -- who typically take on animated shapes known as avatars -- companies are turning to virtual offices and landscapes as tools for employees and business partners to collaborate and learn.
The Digital Universe
Analyst Views, March 27, 2008
A year ago this month, IDC produced a white paper for EMC entitled, “The Expanding Digital Universe: A Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth through 2010,” this month the forecast was revised. The digital universe that a year ago was merely expanding is now “diverse and exploding.” IDC computes the size of the digital universe last year at 281 exabytes or 281 billion gigabytes and reports that, “By 2011, the digital universe will be 10 times the size it was in 2006.” From another perspective: “The number of digital ‘atoms’ in the digital universe is already bigger than the number of stars in the universe.”
Peer-to-Peer Filters: Ready for Internet Prime Time?
Internet Evolution, March 27, 2008
Internet Evolution and SNEP (the Syndicat National de l’Édition Phonographique, an organization that represents the interests of the French music industry), commissioned an independent test lab, the European Advanced Networking Test Center AG (EANTC) , to test the functionality and performance of P2P filters. The focus on the test was on large-scale devices, or so-called "carrier grade" systems – ones designed to filter vast amounts of peer-to-peer traffic on the Internet, in real time. The results for the products tested were interesting. But perhaps even more significant was the number of companies that declined to have anything to do with the test, or withdrew their products after starting the test process.
AOL Ad Project, 'Platform A,' Plots Plan B
Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2008
Time Warner's AOL unit is aiming to transform itself from an Internet service provider into a full-service digital-advertising business. To that end, it has spent about $1 billion to buy seven ad-technology firms with different areas of expertise, from behavioral targeting to video ads. The next step is to knit them together with Advertising.com -- an entity AOL has dubbed Platform A, but has yet to take to market.
Yahoo! Investor Presentation 2008
Yahoo!, March 18, 2008
Yahoo!'s investor presentation that details the Company's three-year financial plan and strategic initiatives which are expected to roughly double operating cash flow over the next three years from $1.9 billion to $3.7 billion and generate $8.8 billion in revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs in 2010. The financial plan was first presented to Yahoo!'s board of directors in December 2007, before the Company received the unsolicited acquisition proposal by Microsoft Corporation. The presentation supports the unanimous determination by the Company's board of directors that Microsoft's January 31, 2008 unsolicited acquisition proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo!.
iPhone Hype Holds Up
M:Metrics, March 18, 2008
Six months after the iPhone’s U.S. launch, has the device changed the mobile landscape? According to M:Metrics, the mobile media authority, the answer is yes. Today, the measurement firm reports that the iPhone is already the most popular device for accessing news and information on the mobile Web, with 85 percent of iPhone users accessing news and information in the month of January.
The Diverse & Exploding Digital Universe: An Updated Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth through 2011
IDC, & EMC, March 2008
This report is an update of IDC’s inaugural forecast of the digital universe published in March
2007.i In this year’s update we calibrate the size (bigger) and growth (faster) of the digital universe again, but we also explore
some areas we only touched on last time. As before, we also seek to understand the implications for business, government,
and society.
Age of Disconnect Anxiety and Four Reasons Why It's Difficult to Stay Off the Grid
Solutions Research Group, March 2008
Disconnect Anxiety refers to various feelings of disorientation and nervousness experienced when a person is deprived of Internet or wireless access for a period of time. In our research, we observed disconnect anxiety in people of all ages and backgrounds to varying levels of intensity. Anxiety resulting from ‘BlackBerry blackouts’ has been discussed in the popular press in the past year; however, other variants have received less attention to date.
Mobile Access to Data and Information
Pew Internet & American Life Project, March 2008
62% of all Americans are part of a wireless, mobile population that participates in digital activities away from home or work. Not only are young people attuned to this kind of access, African Americans and English-speaking Latinos are more likely than white Americans to use non-voice data applications on their cell phones.
The Domain Industry Brief
Verisign, March 2008
The Domain Name Industry closed 2007 with more than 153 million domain name
registrations worldwide across all of the Top Level Domain Names (TLDs), an increase
of nearly 33 million domain name registrations since the close of 2006. In the last
quarter of 2007, the base of domain name registrations grew 27 percent over the fourth
quarter of 2006 and fi ve percent over the third quarter of 2007.
2008 digital outlook report
Avenue A | Razorfish, March 2008
Avenue A | Razorfish’s 2008 Digital Outlook Report examines where the digital spend is going. We provide direction on how marketers can align their organization to respond to the new digital environment, as well as a framework for effectively managing emerging channels and social media. And we give you some interesting new insights into consumer behavior.
Web 3.0: What's Next After What's Next
Forbes, February 22, 2008
Even as entrepreneurs wrestle with Web 2.0, it's time to look ahead at the next generation of online tools and techniques. In this three-part series, bMighty takes a look at where we've come from and where we're headed.
For well over a decade now, the Web, the Internet on which it rides and the various software devices and programs that make it work have been evolving so rapidly--creating so many business opportunities and challenges--that many small and mid-sized businesses have been busy just hanging on.
A Portrait of Early Adopters: Why People First Went Online --and Why They Stayed
Pew Internet & American Life Project, February 21, 2008
Our canvassing of longtime internet users shows that the things that first brought them online are still going strong on the internet today. Then, it was bulletin boards; now, it's social networking sites. Then, it was the adventure of exploring the new cyberworld; now, it's upgrading to broadband and wireless connections to explore even more aggressively. Yet there are changes in their activities and motives.
The UK Internet Boom
eMarketer, February 19, 2008
2007 was another boom year for the Internet in the United Kingdom. Almost 37 million people went online in an average month—that’s over 60% of the population. This year looks like more of the same, and by 2012 eMarketer estimates that the Internet will reach roughly 70% of all UK residents.
Princeton Researchers Envision a More Secure Internet
PhysOrg, February 18, 2008
The Internet is, without question, a worldwide success. More than a billion people use it. On many places on Earth, the World Wide Web and e-mail have become so integrally woven into the fabric of life that it is hard to remember that just 20 years or so ago the Internet was an idea in its infancy. But the near-magical powers that the digitized world provides can be harnessed both for good and for ill.
Broadband in America
Analyst Views, February 14, 2008
Last month the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its annual study of broadband in the U.S., it is one of many on the topic to have been published in the past two months. The number of reports does not lead to consensus as to the success, or failure, of broadband initiatives in this country. One thing that is agreed upon is the importance of bringing broadband to the masses.
Reuters CEO Sees 'Semantic Web' in Its Future
O'Reilly Radar, February 8, 2008
At Money:Tech yesterday, I did an on-stage interview with Devin Wenig, the charismatic CEO-to-be of Reuters (following the still-not completed merger with Thomson). Devin highlighted what he considers two big trends hitting financial (and other professional) data.
Information Economy Report 2007-2008
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, February 6, 2008
The Information Economy Report 2008 - Science and technology for development: the new paradigm of ICT, analyses the current and potential contribution of information technology to knowledge creation and diffusion. It explores how ICTs help generate innovations that improve the livelihoods of the poor and support enterprise competitiveness. The report examines how ICTs affect productivity and growth and reflects on the need for a development-oriented approach to intellectual property rights in order to enable effective access to technology.
The State of Spam: A Monthly Report – February 2008
Symantec, February 2008
While logic would dictate that spam levels would subside after the holidays, they’ve continued
to soar and reached 78.5 percent of al email traffic during January. Another surprise this month was that spam originating in Europe outpaced messages originating from North America.
Microsoft Offers to Buy Yahoo for $44.6 Billion
Bloomberg, February 1, 2008
Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, made an unsolicited $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo! Inc. to challenge Google Inc.'s dominance in Internet search services and advertising.
The Exabyte Era
Cisco, January 14, 2008
The Internet is not collapsing under the weight of streaming video. In the near term, the most formidable challenge that online video poses for the Internet will be flash crowds rather than the overall volume of traffic. In terms of absolute volume, much of the impact of video will be in the form of peer-to-peer (P2P) file exchange. As high-definition video content makes its way onto P2P networks, P2P traffic will grow at about 33 percent per year, decreasing only slightly to 30 percent per year in 2011.
Global IP Traffic Forecast and Methodology, 2006–2011
Cisco, January 14, 2008
After a brief mid-decade slowdown, IP traffic will nearly double every two years through 2011. Total IP traffic will nearly quadruple in the four-year period from 2007 to 2011. Driven by high-definition video and high-speed broadband penetration, consumer IP traffic will bolster the overall IP growth rate so that it sustains a fairly steady growth rate through 2011, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46 percent and nearly quadrupling the monthly traffic run rate from 2007 to 2011.
IBM Internet Security Systems X-Force® 2007 Trend Statistics
IBM Global Technology Services, January 2008
The IBM Internet Security Systems X-Force® research and development team discovers, analyzes, monitors and records a wide array of computer security threats and vulnerabilities. According to X-Force observations, many new and surprising trends surfaced during 2007. The implications of these trends provide a useful backdrop in preparing to enhance information security in 2008.
State of Email Authentication and the Internet Trust Ecosystem
Authentication and Online Trust Alliance, January 2008
The escalating level of threats and impact to online trust and privacy has increased the critical need for the detection and elimination of deceptive and fraudulent email. In recent years volumes of spam and phishing emails have risen dramatically. Today upwards of 10% to 80% of email from leading brands, banks, and ISPs is spoofed, with the intent to mislead recipients into visiting deceptive sites and in some cases installing malicious software.
Estimating the Exaflood: The Impact of Video and Rich Media on the Internet - A Zettabyte by 2015?
Discovery Institute Technology and Democracy Project, January 29, 2008
An upsurge of technological change and a rising tide of new forms of data are working a deep transformation of the Internet’s capabilities and uses. In this third phase of Net evolution, network architectures and commercial business plans reflect the dominance of rich video and media traffic.
Highlights of the 2008 Digital Future Report
USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future, January 17, 2008
The seven years of longitudinal research comprise an absolutely unique data base that completely captures broadband at home, the wireless Internet, on-line media, user-generated content and, now, social networking. This year's report contains a large module looking at on-line communities and social networking in great detail.
SSAC Advisory on Fast Flux Hosting and DNS
ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee, January 2008
This Advisory describes the technical aspects of fast flux hosting and fast flux service
networks. It explains how the DNS is exploited to abet criminal activities that employ
fast flux hosting, identifying the impacts of fast flux hosting, and calling particular
attention to the way such attacks extend the malicious or profitable lifetime of the illegal
activities conducted using these fast flux techniques.
JP Morgan's "Nothing but Net"
Analyst Views, January 10, 2008
If the title of JP Morgan's 2008 report, "Nothing but Net", is correct, it should be a banner year for the Internet. The 312 page report discusses several "Key Investment Themes", asks a few questions for the upcoming year and then goes on to provide outlooks for the U.S. and China and offer in-depth analysis of over two dozen companies.
Information Security 2007
Analyst Views, January 3, 2008
The problem of information insecurity is well documented in the public (think stolen government laptops and T.J. Maxx) as well as inside the enterprise where attempts to thwart and lock down data leaks are increasing. Two reports on information security, with somewhat different angles but painting a similar picture, came out at the end of last year. The subtitle of the Fifth Global State of Information Security report, published by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), "The End of Innocence," provides a fine summation of the current state of affairs: it is time to acknowledge a problem that until now was either ignored or invisible.
Websense 2008 Security Threat Predictions
Websense Security Labs, January 2008
This Security Threat Predictions report summarizes the predictions of Websense Security Labs, the security research arm of Websense that discovers and investigates today's advanced Internet threats and publishes its findings globally.
Digital Footprints: Online Identity Management and Search in the Age of Transparency
Pew Internet & American Life Project, December 17, 2007
Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint; 47 percent have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22 percent five years ago. However, few monitor their online presence with great regularity. Just 3 percent of self-searchers report that they make a regular habit of it and 74 percent have checked up on their digital footprints only once or twice.
Analysis: Paid Content on the Web is Hard, but not Impossible
digital media wire, December 10, 2007
The case for why publishers should be able to charge for content on the web always revolves around the exceptions that prove the rule, e.g. Consumer Report and WSJ — which, let’s be honest, are the same examples everyone was using back in 1998. The problem with paid content on the web isn’t that it’s not possible — it’s that it’s HARD to do, because it requires that the content not be a commodity — and content not being a commodity typically means it’s not available anywhere else for free. And the web has made free content ubiquitous.
Widgets Make a Big Splash on the Net
USA Today, November 26, 2007
For nearly a decade, GarageBand.com was the quintessential struggling Web company, barely hanging on as it burned through $17 million. Until widgets. Since it developed a widget, one of the mini-Web applications now flourishing on Facebook and other social-networking sites, the company — renamed iLike — has become an overnight sensation.
Boosting European Prosperity Through the Widespread Use of ICT
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, November 2007
This brief discusses why higher productivity is critical for the future of Europe; examines the relationship between ICT and productivity in the United States and Europe; describes the impact of ICT on European economies; and lays out fi ve key policy principles for attaining digital prosperity.
The Fight for Cyber Space: High Tech and Law Enforcement Experts on Defeating Today’s Cyber Criminals
Business Software Alliance, October 2007
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) asked a range of technology industry, nonprofit and law enforcement experts to share their views on the state of cyber crime in the US today, and to discuss the efficacy of the tools currently available to law enforcement to fight cyber criminals. While the experiences of these individuals were broad and varied, their conclusions were resoundingly uniform.
Internet Infrastructure: Challenges in Developing a Public/Private Recovery Plan
U.S. Government Accountability Office, October 2007
GAO was asked to summarize its report on plans for recovering the Internet in case of a major disruption (GAO-06-672) and to provide an update on DHS's efforts to implement that report's recommendations. The report (1) identifies examples of major disruptions to the Internet, (2) identifies the primary laws and regulations governing recovery of the Internet in the event of a major disruption, (3) evaluates DHS plans for facilitating recovery from Internet disruptions, and (4) assesses challenges to such efforts.
Google & DoubleClick
Analyst Views, October 11, 2007
In an effort to further expand its advertising empire, or to defend it from encroaching competition, Google intends to acquire DoubleClick, for $3.1 billion. The move is similar to that of Microsoft's acquisition of aQuantive, a DoubleClick competitor, for $6.1 billion in May. (Microsoft was forced to take aQuantive when it lost out to Google on DoubleClick.) It is also similar to purchases made by Yahoo!.
Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2008
Georgia Tech Information Security Center, October 2, 2007
As one of the leading academic research centers focusing on information security, GTISC endeavors to create a collaborative environment for individuals, industrial, academic and government organizations to engage in real-world problem solving for effective information security and policy. Based on GTISC research and advance interviews with the panelists, this report covers five emerging threats expected to increase and evolve in 2008.
Symantec Internet Security Threat Report
Symantec, September 1, 2007
The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report provides a six-month update of Internet threat activity. It includes analysis of network-based attacks, a review of known vulnerabilities, and highlights of malicious code. It will also assess trends in phishing and spam activity. This summary of the Internet Security Threat Report will alert readers to current trends and impending threats. It will also offer recommendations for protection against and mitigation of these concerns. This volume covers the six-month period from January 1 to June 30, 2007.
Malicious Cyber Acts
Analyst Views Weekly, September 27, 2007
"As the world has flattened, we've seen a significant amount of emerging threats from increasingly sophisticated groups attacking organizations around the world," CEO of anti-virus vendor McAfee David DeWalt said. DeWalt also stated that cybercrime is now a $105 billion business and is more lucrative than the illegal drug trade. DeWalt's latter comment was heavily scrutinized Kevin Poulsen of Wired. What all the collected data seems to reveal is that cybercrime is not going away. Whether the $105 billion estimate posited by DeWalt is accurate or not, cyberspace is fertile ground.
Cyber Attacks on the Rise: IBM 2007 Midyear Report
IBM X-Force, August 1, 2007
So far 2007 has been a very interesting and unexpected year on many security fronts. The IBM Internet Security Systems X-Force research and development team discovered, analyzed and recorded new vulnerabilities and the status of varying threats throughout the first six months of this year. The data has been compiled in this report.
McAfee North America Criminology Report: Organized Crime and the Internet
McAfee, June 1, 2007
There are over a billion Internet users worldwide. All are connected into a huge global network of computers. Billions of dollars move across these networks every year. The volume and value of these transactions continues to grow. Online transactions in Canada increased 38 percent, reaching almost $40 billion last year. In the U.S., retail e-commerce increased 25 percent in 2006, to $108 billion. The Commerce Department reports that online business-to-business transactions reached roughly $2 trillion. That same year, online banking customers grew by roughly 30 percent in North America. Western Europe and Asia are experiencing similar growth.
Cybercrime: Public and Private Entities Face Challenges in Addressing Cyber Threats
United States Government Accountability Office, June 1, 2007
Cybercrime has significant economic impacts and threatens U.S. national security interests. Various studies and experts estimate the direct economic impact from cybercrime to be in the billions of dollars annually. The annual loss due to computer crime was estimated to be $67.2 billion for U.S. organizations, according to a 2005 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) survey.
A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users
Pew Internet & American Life Project, May 7, 2007
The advent of Web 2.0 – the ability of people to use a range of information and communication technology as a platform to express themselves online and participate in the commons of cyberspace – is often heralded as the next phase of the information society. Yet little is known about which segments of the population are inclined to make robust use of information technology and which aren’t. With that in mind, the Pew Internet & American Life Project conducted a survey designed to classify Americans into different groups of technology users. We developed our typology along three dimensions of people’s relationship to information and communications technology.
The Corporate Face of Web 2.0
Analyst Views, April 5, 2007
The term 'Web 2.0' has been a catch-word in the Internet arena world for a while, yet its definition remains elusive. In the end Web 2.0 is perhaps self-defined by applications which it has popularized; among these are blogs, social networking, RSS, podcasts, wikis, and content tagging. And while the public face of Web 2.0 may be generated by sites such as MySpace which seem to be about as far from the corporate world as one can get, as the recent adoption of blogs in that sphere shows, Web 2.0 and its defining applications are making it to the more mainstream corporate world. Forrester Research and BusinessWeek both addressed this directly last month; Forrester in two reports and BusinessWeek in a special report.
The Future of Cybercrime
McAfee Avert Labs, April 1, 2007
McAfee Avert Labs publishes this semiannual objective forum of leading-edge security research, analysis, trends, and opinion. In this edition, we examine the near-term future of the security business—the threats, defenses, and issues that we will all face during the next five years. The constant struggle between security personnel and malware authors is an arms race. No matter how
quickly developers and IT design new safeguards, the bad guys make similar advances. For every security breach closed or vulnerability fixed, the crooks will find new ways to disrupt networks and users and make money off of their victims.
The Debate on Net Neutrality: A Policy Perspective
Department of Decision and Information Sciences, Warrington College of Business Administration
We find that if the principle of net neutrality is abandoned, the broadband service provider definitely stands to gain from the arrangement, as a result of extracting the preferential access fees from the content providers. The content providers are thus left worse off, mirroring the stances of the two sides in the debate. Depending on parameter values in our framework, consumer surplus either does not change or is higher, and in the latter case, while a majority of consumers are better off, a minority of them is left worse off with larger wait times to access their preferred content.
Net Neutrality, Again
Analyst Views Weekly, February 15, 2007
Though it never really went away, the debate over Net Neutrality has resurfaced recently in the press. There are two main reasons for the reappearance. One is the change of power in Congress; with control now in the hands of Democrats who are seen as more accepting of the idea of regulation, proponents of Net Neutrality are preparing to reintroduce legislation that stalled under Republican control. Another is the argument that due to the increase in bandwidth heavy applications and services such as video, the Internet's infrastructure is in need of an upgrade; network operators feel they have the right to recoup costs for this, if not from end users then from the content providers. Any debate for which the key terms cannot be defined acceptably for all sides is one that is likely to be both frustrating and long; Net Neutrality is no exception. Those on each side of this issue have been accused of replacing a factual debate with an emotional one; making finding the neutral ground from which a fruitful discussion can spring one of the most difficult things about it. However, one way or another this will have to be done.
Web Resources
News Sites & Portals
eWeek
Information Today
Internet.com
InternetWeek
Internet World
KMWorld
Wired News
Associations & Organizations
Berkman Center for Internet & Society: Harvard Law School
The Berkman Center is a research program founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. They represent a network of faculty, students, fellows, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and virtual architects working to identify and engage with the challenges and opportunities of cyberspace.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/
Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee
This site contains information about the program and activities of the Advisory Committee and the Congressional Internet Caucus -- a bi-partisan group of over 170 members of the House and Senate working to educate their colleagues about the promise and potential of the Internet.
http://www.netcaucus.org/
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is responsible for managing and coordinating the Domain Name System (DNS) to ensure that every address is unique and that all users of the Internet can find all valid addresses. It does this by overseeing the distribution of unique IP addresses and domain names. It also ensures that each domain name maps to the correct IP address.
http://www.icann.org/
Information Technology Association of America
The mission of the ITAA is to represent and enhance the competitive interests of the U.S. information technology and electronics industries. The Association provides leadership in business development, public policy advocacy, market forecasting and standards development to more than 350 corporate members. Its members range from the smallest start-ups to industry leaders offering services, system integration, Internet, telecommunications, software, electronics and hardware solutions to the public and commercial sector markets.
http://www.itaa.org/
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is a non-partisan research and educational institute – a think tank – whose mission is to formulate and promote public policies to advance technological innovation and productivity internationally, in Washington, and in the states. Recognizing the vital role of technology in ensuring American prosperity, ITIF focuses on innovation, productivity, and digital economy issues.
http://www.itif.org
Internet Society
The Internet Society (ISOC) is a nonprofit organisation founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, USA, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.
http://www.isoc.org/
Pew Internet & American Life Project
The Pew Internet & American Life Project produces reports that explore the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the Internet through collection of data and analysis of real-world developments as they affect the virtual world.
http://www.pewinternet.org/index.asp
The Society for New Communications Research
The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) think tank dedicated to the advanced study of new media and communications tools, technologies and emerging modes of communication, and their effect on traditional media, professional communications, business, culture and society.
http://sncr.org
Stanford Center for Internet & Society
The CIS brings together scholars, academics, legislators, students, programmers, security researchers, and scientists to study the interaction of new technologies and the law and to examine how the synergy between the two can either promote or harm public goods like free speech, privacy, public commons, diversity, and scientific inquiry.
http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu
U.S. Internet Industry Association
The US Internet Industry Association (USIIA) is the North American trade association for
Internet commerce, content and connectivity. Founded in 1994, USIIA advocates effective public policy for the Internet and provides its members with essential business news, information, support and services.
http://www.usiia.org
W3C
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding. On this page, you'll find W3C news, links to W3C technologies and ways to get involved. New visitors can find help in Finding Your Way at W3C. We encourage organizations to learn more about W3C and about W3C Membership.
http://www.w3.org/
Working Group on Internet Governance
The two documents adopted in Geneva, the Declaration of Principles and Action Plan, set the parameters for the WGIG and contain its Terms of Reference. The main activity of the WGIG was "to investigate and make proposals for action, as appropriate, on the governance of Internet by 2005." The WGIG was asked to present the result of its work in a report "for consideration and appropriate action for the second phase of the WSIS in Tunis 2005."
http://wgig.org/
Web Sites
Minnesota Internet Traffic Studies
In order to shed some light on traffic trends on the Internet, this web page collects information about Internet traffic from a variety of sources. Most are public web sites (for which URLs are provided), over 100 at this point, that continuously monitor traffic on a variety of networks. They include the largest public Internet exchanges in the world, and together account for a substantial fraction of the world's Internet traffic.
http://www.dtc.umn.edu/mints/home.php
