Content is the new king of the block in time spent on the Internet, as it has now bypassed communications as the number one activity online.
In 2003, communication was the number one online activity, accounting for 46 percent of time spent online. That has now dropped to 33 percent.
On the other hand, time spent with content on the web was 34 percent in 2003, and has now risen to 47 percent through May of 2007, according to a four-year analysis of the Internet Activity Index (IAI) issued by the Online Publishers Association (OPA). The IAI is performed by Nielsen/NetRatings.
“The IAI has identified a very significant and sustained trend in where consumers are spending their online time “The index indicates that, over the last four years, the primary role of the Internet has shifted from communications to content,” OPA President Pam Horan said.
Driving the changes have been consumers' desire to get their news, entertainment, weather and other information online. A pattern that has been emerging is major news will drive large traffic spikes, but after the story settles down, traffic will most the time continue to be higher than before the big story is broken.
Other Factors in the changes:
* A more accessible, and much faster, internet is driving increased overall time spent online.
* The increased popularity of video is leading to more time being spent with online content.
* The improvement in search allows consumers to more easily and quickly find the exact content they are looking for, increasing the likelihood they will engage more deeply with that content.
* The web simply offers far more content than it did even four years ago, increasing content’s share of time.
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