Monday, May 07, 2007

Where do you fit in technologically?

Do you cringe when your cell phone rings? Do you suffer from withdrawal when you can't check your Blackberry? Do you rush to post your vacation video to your Web site? The questions below allow you to place yourself in one of the categories in the Pew Internet Project's Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users.

http://www.pewinternet.org/quiz/index.asp

My Results : Omnivore
Omnivores make up 8% of the American public.

Basic Description
Members of this group use their extensive suite of technology tools to do an enormous range of things online, on the go, and with their cell phones. Omnivores are highly engaged with video online and digital content. Between blogging, maintaining their Web pages, remixing digital content, or posting their creations to their websites, they are creative participants in cyberspace.

Defining Characteristics
You might see them watching video on an iPod. They might talk about their video games or their participation in virtual worlds the way their parents talked about their favorite TV episode a generation ago. Much of this chatter will take place via instant messages, texting on a cell phone, or on personal blogs. Omnivores are particularly active in dealing with video content. Most have video or digital cameras, and most have tried watching TV on a non-television device, such as a laptop or a cell phone.

Omnivores embrace all this connectivity, feeling confident in how they manage information and their many devices. This puts information technology at the center of how they express themselves, do their jobs, and connect to their friends.

Who They Are
They are young, ethnically diverse, and mostly male (70%). The median age is 28; just more than half of them are under age 30, versus one in five in the general population. Over half are white (64%) and 11% are black (compared to 12% in the general population). English-speaking Hispanics make up 18% of this group. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many (42% versus the 13% average) of Omnivores are students.

2 comments:

gimlet said...

Unsurprisingly, I came out as a "lackluster veteran." It's almost disturbing how close I fit this profile, particularly the attitude towards cell phones and being "always available" through our self-imposed electronic shackles. Yet I gripe about this on a blog...

Lackluster Veterans make up 8% of the American public.

Basic Description
Lackluster Veterans have the necessary gadgets for the
information age, such as a broadband connection, cell
phone, and a digital camera. But the wealth of information and communication technology possessed by Lackluster Veterans does not translate into particularly high levels of satisfaction about
gadgets’ impacts on their lives. Although they seem to value internet connectivity, that is less true for cell phones.

Defining Characteristics
Lackluster Veterans do not link ICTs to better personal productivity, their ability to work with others in their community, or keeping up with family and friends. All in all, Lackluster Veterans seem content with surfing the Web or emailing others, but they do not show great inclination to stretch their technology habits to self-expression or mobile media. Very few like the extra-availability that comes with
having “always on” broadband access or cell phones.

Who They Are
This group has a median age of 40 and has a lot of online experience, as the typical Lackluster Veteran
has been online for about 10 years. Most of them are men – 65% – and they are well educated and comfortably financially. Some 41% are parents of a child under the
age of 18.

Kriz11dc said...

technology hile being mom ah :)