eMarketer just published an article, “What Do ‘Heavy Users’ Do Online?,” citing a study from Universal McCann that discusses how “heavy” Internet users are utilizing the Web and the impact of new media on advertising.  Since we’ve been talking about several trends in media lately, I thought it would be interesting to include some of its results. 

• 16% of people ages 16-34 used podcasting and 20% plan to use podcasting in the future

• Close to 100 million people in the U.S. (about 1/3 of the population) fell into the category of a “heavy” Internet user, which is defined as someone who’s accessed the Web at least 11 times in the past week

• IM, price-comparison sites and social networks were the most popular uses for the Web

• The most common activities were shopping and buying.  84% of the people polled said they had done both.

• 62% said that they had participated in blogging one way or another

I didn’t find the above stats too surprising, but one that definitely caught my eye was the type of technology that ‘heavy’ Internet users would miss the most if it were taken away from them.  My first guess would have been the Internet, but it is actually television with 28% of respondents.  Only 24% said that they would most miss Web sites, with email coming in close behind at 23%.  These stats exemplify how important video still is today and why content creators continue to seek new ways to drive revenue from their extensive video libraries.