TONY COX, host:
I'm Tony Cox and this is News & Notes. What do you do while you're on the Web? There's some surprising new information about the evolving nature of how people use the Internet and what they use it for. We turn now to Geoffrey Bennett. He is the digital producer for News & Notes. Hey, Geoffrey.
GEOFFREY BENNETT: Hey, Tony.
COX: So, what is the takeaway in this new report?
BENNETT: Well, social networks and blogs have moved ahead of personal emailing among the most popular online activities. This is according to the Nielsen Company, which monitors consumer behavior. And they say time spent on these social networking sites is growing three times faster than the overall Internet rate. And they say over two thirds of the world's online population now visits social networking and blogging sites. But the issue now is how to fund these sites, right?
COX: Mm hmm.
BENNETT: So, like Facebook, for example, has a huge audience, a growing audience but has very relatively little obvious advertising compared to a site like MySpace, which is cluttered with ads but have seen their audience flatten. So, it's a catch 22 for some of these sites.
COX: Well, speaking of social networks, a hugely popular site, YouTube, is having issues overseas. Tell us about that.
BENNETT: Yeah, well, Google which owns YouTube said Monday it would block users in the U.K. from watching music videos on the site after negotiations with Britain's music royalty collecting agency fell apart. So, as it worked at present, record labels in the U.K. would provide YouTube with what they call premium or official music videos. And then, YouTube would then pay a royalty to the writers and publishers of those songs based on the viewing popularity of those clips. But the license expired, and neither side can come to terms with the best financial agreement. So, again, it's all about the money and then YouTube's just restricted access to...
COX: You know, this talk about Facebook and YouTube brings us to another kind of online servers, Geoffrey - Legacy Locker. What is that?
BENNETT: It's an interesting concept. It's a will for your online life, right. So, much in the same way, you would transfer a savings account or a car upon your death, now, you can do the same thing with a PayPal account or an online photo album or something like that. It's a company called Legacy Locker, as you said. And for $30 a year, you can transfer your passwords to your online account, to a friend or family member as you see fit. The issue though is the service is only as good as - for as long as the site lasts. And since it's a startup, you know, it's anyone's guess (laughing) how long it will be around.
COX: That's wild.
BENNETT: Yeah.
COX: Switching gears, we have been talking on the show and online about the major economic woes facing Detroit. What's been the response on our blog?
BENNETT: Yeah, we're talking about the price of a home sold in Detroit going down to $7,500. And a reader named Deuce Bollards wonders, quote, "What will happen to the Lions, the Pistons and Tigers? If they bite the dust, that will be the saddest part of this story." I don't necessarily agree. There's a lot of other sad stories (laughing) other than Detroit's sports teams...
COX: Well, that's true, but, you know.
BENNETT: Going down. But, you know, as our blog winds down, in the show's final week, we have links to all of our network of bloggers and those conversations will continue there.
COX: Alright, Jeff, thank you very much.
BENNETT: Thank you.
COX: That was Geoffrey Bennett, the digital producer for News & Notes, joining me here in the studios of NPR West.
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