• Half of network TV online video viewers choose online over broadcast
• Gugg: google to acquire Digg

photo by AgentOdd

This is interesting for me because living overseas almost all of my election news is online. I’m curious how the news is being absorbed back home. Most of what I watch is from Huffington Post, Crooks & Liars, DailyKos, YouTube. The vicious loops of stateside political coverage from CNN International (and mind numbing cross promotional ads on Astro Sat TV) leaves me thinking why have TV at all.

Cisco’s Visual Networking Index Pulse Survey, which includes data from Compete and responses from about 1,800 registered U.S. voters, found that the internet is second only to television as a significant source of political information this election cycle, and online video users tend to follow the race more closely than those who don’t watch online video.

Key findings include:

• 62% of respondents said that they regularly access information about the presidential election online through their PCs
• About 30% of registered voters said they watched video related to the presidential election online, and 75% of them felt it helped them follow events more closely
• Online video watchers seem to be more engaged in the election than other respondents; 62% of online video users say they follow the presidential election closely, while only 37% of non-online video users do

via Compete Blog

• 30% voted before election day
• comScore: India has fastest growing net population

OK, not exactly.. But according to AdAge you can make, “50 cents to $2.50 per minute of your attention while you fill out surveys, in the form of “gift cards, charitable donations and opportunities to view survey results as rewards.”

The online survey companies need to get beyond work at home mentality when targeting niche consumers on social networks. Pay us CASH. I made 175 dollars in an hour back in the late 90’s looking at monitors from different viewing angles. Good work if you can get it.

via Silicon Alley Insider

• Facebook weak in Asia, Malaysia still on Friendster
• Social networking increases efficiency at work

LHC facility live webcam here

• Swarm Player, P2P video seeks to disrupt
• Black Sabbath – War Pigs

You might not want to burn incense all day. I’ll still burn some Nag Champa and savor the positive effects, but with good ventilation.

Study participants who used incense in their homes all day or throughout the day and night were 80 percent more likely than non-users to develop squamous cell carcinoma of the entire respiratory tract.

The link between incense use and increased cancer risk held when the researchers weighed other factors, including cigarette smoking, diet and drinking habits.

“This association is consistent with a large number of studies identifying carcinogens in incense smoke,” Friborg’s team writes, “and given the widespread and sometimes involuntary exposure to smoke from burning incense, these findings carry significant public health implications.”

via Rueters

• Honda Insight, most affordable hybrid
• Skype for Mac 6 months no update

A recent study by The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research reveals that of the fastest growing fortune 500 companies, 77% reported using social media in their business.

According to the study’s authors, “26% of respondents in 2007 felt that social media is “very important” to their business and marketing strategy. That figure rose to 44% in approximately one year. It is clear that this group of fast-growing companies considers the use of social media as a central part of its strategic plan.”

Social networking is the most familiar of the technologies. In 2007, wikis were the least familiar but they have since leapfrogged over podcasting.

It’s notable that the study’s authors found much more extensive use and growth in use in the fastest growing 500 US companies than they found in the Fortune 500, the largest companies. It would be a logical fallacy to argue that the fastest growing companies are growing fastest because of their use of social media, but it could be a factor. It could also be the case that insurgent companies have a greater incentive and proclivity to experiment than incumbent industry leaders.

via ReadWriteWeb

• 50 ways to use social media for marketing
• Small business social media use increasing

According to a new study by Rapleaf, women significantly outnumber men on most social networks. This makes sense because women are generally better at keeping in touch with old friends and making new ones.

Will this give women an edge in business since they’ll have more privy to new jobs offered, access to new clients and events? Or will they be missing out on real world opportunities because they are too busy catching up on facebook?

via Read/WriteWeb

• Icondial, Call any phone in the World
• Social networking increases efficiency at work

via Seattlepi

The globe app is really nice.

• WD TV-2 media player has ethernet, dts and optical audio
• NT7 Breakfast Show interview

wefeelfine.org

• Keith Barry does seriously cool “brain magic” at TED
• Online video viewers better informed voters