Internet & Technology

The mainstream media offer the American public a divided view of how information technology influences society, according to a new PEJ study. Messages such as technology making life easier often vie with concerns about privacy and safety. How do the media portray technology? Which companies get the most coverage? Do social media and blogs treat the subject differently than traditional media? A year-long study of technology coverage answers these and other questions.

Technology topped the agenda on Twitter last week as the powerful tech troika of Twitter, Google and Facebook all generated attention. On blogs, the focus was divided between events relating to the Afghanistan war and the death of a veteran actor. And a YouTube-based host who creates his own brand of news was popular once again.

This talk, the keynote address at the Arizona State Library’s E-Reader Summit and Technology Showcase, will highlight trends in mobile internet access, e-reader and tablet computer use, and mobile apps.

Trends in technology use and adoption among African-Americans and Latinos

Aaron Smith will speak at CAPAF’s Internet Advocacy Roundtable to discuss how to best use social media to engage and mobilize diverse constituencies.

35% of U.S. adults have cell phones with apps, but only 24% of adults actually use them. Apps users are younger, more educated, and more affluent than other cell phone users.

One-in-ten online adults ages 50-64 use Twitter or another status-updating service.

Young adults are just as likely to check their email as their Facebook account on a typical day; older adults still favor email.

What will happen when the untapped knowledge of every patient, of every caregiver, of everyone who has something of value to share actually has the opportunity to share it?

Susannah Fox will discuss the social life of health information and its potential for transforming health care.