E-mail, news still most

September 2, 2001

AFTER e-mail, news and "references" are the most popular online application among Philippine Internet users, a recent study conducted by an Australian research firm shows.

Asked what they generally use the Internet for, 73 percent of respondents said they go online for Philippine news and related information, findings of the recently concluded Philippine Online survey conducted by www.consult Pty Ltd show.

The questions allow multiple responses from the respondents. E-mail remained the top application among those surveyed.

Also asked what news website or portal they frequent, more than 70 percent of users said they read INQ7.net (formerly Inquirer Interactive), now the online news website owned by the Philippine Daily Inquirer and GMA Network Inc.

This was consistent with the study’s finding that 54 percent of the respondents read the Philippine Daily Inquirer offline. Manila Bulletin was in second place with 48 percent.

Last year, the same survey showed that Internet users read the INQUIRER, in both its broadsheet and online versions, than any other newspaper in the country.

Business and information technology professionals comprise the largest group of regular Internet users, the study indicated.

Www.consult claims to be the largest Internet research company in Australia and Southeast Asia. ACNielsen acquired the company on November 2000.

The Philippine Online survey, which was started in 1998, involves current and regular Internet users (at least online once a week) in the Philippines. This year, 5,838 respondents were involved in the study. The survey included 3,640 males and 2,108 females.

Since the information gathered are based on a sample data, the results were subject to a sampling error of plus or minus 1.3 percent.

The survey was promoted through online advertising banners, hyperlinks, online news items and listings or postings in newsgroups and search engines.

The survey began November 2000 and ended February 2001.

Interestingly, results of this year’s study suggested a slowdown in the growth of Filipino Internet users. Majority of those surveyed had been online for more than 2 years.

Each user spends an average of one to three hours per day online after business hours and weekends, and paying an average of 800 pesos month for Internet access. Last year, the median cost was 450 pesos.

Source: http://www.inq7.net