The proportion of internet users aged 18-29 who reported using social networking sites dropped to 83% in December 2012, according to results from a study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. That represents a 10% decline from just 4 months earlier, and is the lowest proportion in roughly 2 years. Overall, after rising steadily for several years, the percentage of internet users who reported using social networking sites dropped for the first time between August and December 2012, down from 69% to 67%. (It’s worth noting that because the data refers specifically to internet users, the actual number of Americans using social networking sites may have increased, depending on the speed of growth of the online population.)

via Social Networking Adoption Leveled Out in Late 2012.

Tumblr may not be a popular player on the world stage, but data from a new comScore study [download page] shows that it’s heavily used by Americans, relative to other popular sites. Analyzing share of time spent on social networking sites in December 2012, comScore reveals that while Facebook dominated at 83% share, Tumblr occupied the second spot 5.7%, more than Pinterest 1.9%, Twitter 1.7%, and LinkedIn 1.4% combined, and almost as much as the aggregate of all other social networks 6.1%.

via Tumblr Beat Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn for SocNet Time Spent in December.

46% of internet users post original photos and videos online they have created themselves and 41% curate photos and videos they find elsewhere on the internet and post on image-sharing sites. Women are more likely than men to use Pinterest, while Instagram and Tumblr attract equal shares of men and women.

via Photos and Videos as Social Currency Online | Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

Former Guardian science editor, letters editor, arts editor and literary editor Tim Radford has condensed his journalistic experience into a handy set of rules for aspiring hacks

via A manifesto for the simple scribe – my 25 commandments for journalists | Tim Radford | Science | guardian.co.uk.

t turns out that we’re not all on Facebook all day, every day. This infographic shows marketers in different industries how to catch people when they’re in the mood for everything from finance to fast food, any day of the week.

Analysts at LinchpinSEO have measured three types of interactions: likes, comments, and shares; and studied the amount of interaction per day to come up with the best days to post for each sector.

It’s mostly bad news: many people curb their Facebook time until the weekend, when they can upload their baby pictures (and hopefully pick out a luxury car) in peace.

via The Best Days to Post to Facebook, by Industry – SocialTimes.

just because a news outlet prints a paper along with updating their website doesn’t make them “old” fashioned. Everyone was just trying to do their job. Both did it well. It would be one thing if the The Blade did copy the Deadspin story and passed it off as their own online and in the snail mail version. The Blade had good, on-record interviews with all parties involved; Deadspin had copies of the text messages and other good digital touches to accompany their reporting.

via The Problem With the Old Media and New Media Debate – 10,000 Words.

Digital magazine circulations are on the rise, but magazines print circulation is falling ten times quicker. Analysis of the 60 titles that reported digital edition circulation to the ABC in both June and December 2012 shows digital edition circulation up 16 percent to 214,000. But, during the same period those 60 titles lost a combined total of 314,000 from their print circulation.

via ABC Consumer Magazines: Print falling 10 times faster than digital editions are growing | TheMediaBriefing.

Popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest attract some segments of the American population more than others, per results [pdf] from a new study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. While that’s not an earth-shattering revelation by any means, the results do offer some intriguing glimpses into which segments prefer which sites.

via Popular SocNet Sites Prove Appealing to Varying Demographics.

martphone penetration in the world’s top 19 digital markets is expected to double from 35.5% last year to an average of 71.7% in 2015, according to a new media forecast published by ZenithOptimedia. While tablet penetration in these markets will lag that figure, adoption should reach 13% by 2015, up from just 4.7% last year. That number should vary substantially among the different markets: recent reports have put tablet ownership in the US at about 25%.

via Smartphone Penetration in Top Digital Markets Set to Double by 2015.

Many small businesses are already using some form of content marketing to promote themselves—74% as of a January survey of US small businesses by BusinessBolts.com. It’s a tactic that must be paying off, because three-quarters of small businesses also said they planned to do more content marketing this year than last—and just 4% said they had no plans to do any content marketing at all.

via Small Businesses Bet Bigger on Content Marketing – eMarketer.