Americans
8 Percent of American internet users go to Twitter
A new Pew Research Center study found that 8 percent of Americans who are active on the Internet are enthusiastic users of Twitter. The study found that Americans who regularly use Twitter are primarily “young adults, minorities, and those who live in cities.” Also, African-Americans and Latinos are twice as likely to use the service than whites. Full article.
Be prepared: Holiday travel story = More delays, higher fares
As Americans plan to hit the roads this Thanksgiving, they'll pay higher prices to fill up the car. The news isn't any better for those who travel by plane, train or bus. And it could get worse for fliers if people boycott full-body scanning machines at 68 airports, which could clog airport security checkpoints, as those fliers opt for pat-down body searches instead. Full article.
Insurers test data profiles to identify risky clients
Life insurers are testing an intensely personal new use for the vast dossiers of data being amassed about Americans: predicting people's longevity. Insurers have long used blood and urine tests to assess people's health, but now data-gathering companies have such extensive files on most U.S. consumers that some insurers are exploring whether data can reveal nearly as much about a person as a lab analysis of their bodily fluids. Full article.
For many over 55, debt defers dreams
A growing number of Americans age 55 and older have put their retirement dreams on hold as they face a dismal financial reality: The recession has forced many into unemployment, stripped away years of their savings or dramatically reduced incomes during what they had hoped would be their final high-earning years. Full article.
Travelers looking for Wi-Fi
Today, more Americans make plans based on Wi-Fi. When making choices about where to eat or spend the night, more Americans say the availability of free Wi-Fi is now a factor in their choices. In a recent survey conducted by the research firm In-Stat, 64 percent of those polled said they'd choose a hotel or restaurant with free Wi-Fi over one that didn't offer it. Full article.
Manufacturing: The Misunderstood Industry
According to a 2009 survey, Americans believe that manufacturing is the most important industry for a strong national economy. Yet only 17 percent said their schools encourage manufacturing careers, and only 13 percent said their own parents encouraged them to pursue a career in manufacturing. The disconnect between these two views—that manufacturing is critically important, but not as a career—has dire implications for the U.S. since now, more than ever, competitive manufacturing rests on employee quality. Full Article.
Personal bankruptcies rise
Information obtained from the National Bankruptcy Research Center indicated that more Americans filed for bankruptcy protection in July, reversing a trend of declining filings over the previous three months. So far this year there have been nearly 908,000 personal-bankruptcy filings, representing roughly one in every 125 U.S. households. Full Article.
Necessity Entrepreneurship
An unknown number of Americans who lost jobs in the Great Recession created their own. The rate of so-called "necessity entrepreneurship"—people starting businesses because other income opportunities are gone—increased sharply in the U.S. during the recession, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, a research project that tracks entrepreneurship. Necessity was a factor for 24.7% of new U.S. ventures in 2009, according to GEM surveys, up from 16.3% in 2007. Full Article.
Technology Use Increases: One-Quarter of American Adults Read News on Cell Phones
Technology is reshaping the news business and the way consumers relate to it. A new Pew Study found that 26% of Americans get news on their phones. Full Article.
