A recent survey conducted by 3BAAS Media Group that polled members of the newly formed Urban New Media Group elicited some surprising answers to questions surrounding habits of US blacks who frequent the Web.Queried on the Internet locations they visited, You Tube by far was the most popular, followed by news sites such as CNN and Huffington Post, and then Facebook.
While blogs came in much lower than expected, the online tool the majority of respondents indicated they were most interested in learning more about was blogging. A close second was creating video content, with training on additional Facebook social networking applications coming in third.
Interesting enough, Twitter was not used by many of those surveyed. And yet mastering how to Tweet ranked in close proximity to Facebook.
When asked on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the best) how well were clergy and political representatives communicating important issues affecting African Americans, both received a score of 3. Community leaders fared worse, garnering an average score of 2.
Black newspapers and cable networks also received a 2 when the question was posed, "From a scale of 1 – 5 (with 5 being the best) how well do you think black media is doing providing important information to African Americans?" Black magazines and radio were each given a 3 score.
What was also revealing was the number of computer hours individuals spent specifically online. By far the most popular answer was between 3 – 6 hours a day.Additional information asked included whether individuals believed Johnson Publications, creators of Ebony and Jet magazines, would be able to survive the current downturn amid advertising cutbacks and plummeting circulation numbers.
And participants also were given an opportunity to identify one issue that they would you like to see the Urban New Media Group focus on.
While the Urban New Media Group is open to anyone, most of the respondents were blacks residing in the United States. With membership having already swelled to almost 500 people, clearly a need exists to reach consumers seeking to become fully engaged in all things involving information and technology. Complete results of the survey will be provided to members and the public in the coming days.
The group was launched at the USC Annenberg School of Communication's 2009 Beyond Broadcast Conference. The 4th annual gathering of media experts, industry professionals and academia featured a discussion entitled, Urban New Media - Embracing The Digital Renaissance Movement. On hand to give their insight was Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, USC Annenberg Dean Ernie Wilson, actress and media personality Rolonda Watts, and several others.
The moderator of the event was Kevin Ross, president and CEO of 3BAAS Media Group, a strategic marketing and online branding firm based in Los Angeles. Buoyed by the response the panel discussion received, 3BAAS is already planning a full 3-day conference focusing on urban niche communities in 2010.For more information about the Urban New Media Group, visit the website, or join via Facebook.