3 MILLION CANADIANS UPLOAD VIDEO

'Familycasting' is on The Rise, According to New Research

CNW

Canadians are more engaged online and increasingly using the Internet for entertainment, according to the results of an ongoing study of Canadians' technology and media use by Solutions Research Group, a Toronto-based market research firm.

Among the key findings of the study:

Social media doubles in six months and women are leading the charge – in May 2007, 46% reported having visited at least one social media site in the last month (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, etc.), up from only 24% in September 2006. A higher percentage of women use social media than men (50% of online women vs. 42% of online men).

Over 3 million Canadians upload video - Canadians are creating, not just watching, online video. Three million Canadians (~16% of the Internet population) report having uploaded a short video to a private or a public web page. Twenty-four (24%) per cent created or worked on their own page or blog.

'Familycasting' is on the rise - online is renewing and strengthening family bonds. 62% use instant messaging to keep in touch with family and friends. Among those who post photos, stories or videos on the Internet, over 70% say the content is intended for family as well as friends.

Online becomes more engaging - online video and social media explosion of the last six months is creating stronger engagement. In May 2007, one-in-three online Canadians (34%) agrees with the statement "I live on the Internet," up 5-points from 29% in September 2006. 38% of those 30-49 agree with the statement in May 2007, up 10-points from 28% only six months ago.

More social interaction means more file swapping - more online Canadians are sharing music, TV and movie files on the Internet using peer-to-peer sources.

• 41% downloaded a music file in the last month in May 2007, up slightly from 38% in the fall of 2007.
• 16% downloaded full-length movies in the past month (up from 11%) while 15% say they downloaded at least one episode of a TV show (up from 10%).

And file swapping is not a big deal for most - file-sharing of copyrighted movies and music is not perceived as a serious offence by a majority of Canadians, despite the efforts of music and movie industries to educate consumers otherwise.

• Only 41% believe downloading "copyrighted movies off the Internet" without payment or authorization is a "very serious offence" - compared to the 77% who believe "taking a DVD from a store without paying" is a very serious offence. As another point of comparison, Canadians are much more likely to believe that "parking in a fire lane" is a very serious offence (66%).

The Internet trends data in this release come from the Second Quarter 2007 update of Fast Forward™, Solutions Research Group's ongoing syndicated consumer trend research program which examines broadband, wireless, on-demand TV and mobile entertainment. The results cited are based on a survey of 1,119 online Canadians aged 12 and older in May 2007 and a similar survey consisting of 2,302 interviews in September 2006. To maintain an unbiased perspective, Solutions Research Group funds its own syndicated research.

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