13% of Online Adults Use Twitter

Presents survey findings about trends in Americans' use of Twitter by gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, education, and community type, including high rates of use among African Americans and Latinos/Hispanics and growth among the 25-44 age group

Americans and Text Messaging

Presents survey findings about the use of text messaging, including average numbers of text messages and voice calls per day by gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, and education level. Compares preference for texts or calls by average number of texts

A Gibbs sampler on the nn-simplex

We determine the mixing time of a simple Gibbs sampler on the unit simplex, confirming a conjecture of Aldous. The upper bound is based on a two-step coupling, where the first step is a simple contraction argument and the second step is a non-Markovian coupling. We also present a MCMC-based perfect sampling algorithm based on our proof which can be applied with Gibbs samplers that are harder to analyze.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/12-AAP916 the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

The Internet as a Diversion

Presents survey findings on the extent to which people who use online sources of economic and financial information also use the Internet to take their minds off of the recession. Analyzes data by online activity, age, gender, and financial situation

Americans and Their Cell Phones

Presents survey findings about popular activities on, experiences with, and attitudes toward cell phones by age, education, location type, parental status, race/ethnicity, and smartphone ownership

Why Americans Use Social Media

Presents survey findings about motivations for social media use such as staying in touch with family and friends, contacting old friends, and connecting with others who share hobbies or interests, by age, gender, parental status, and other demographics

The Best (and Worst) of Mobile Connectivity

Mobile phone owners like the convenience and ease of connectivity, but rue that they can be interrupted more easily, have to pay the bills, and face bad connections.Some 85% of American adults now own a cell phone of some kind, and these devices mean many things to their owners: an always-available link to friends and family, a pocket computer, or a time-saving tool -- even an actual telephone. When asked to describe in their own words what they like most about owning a cell phone:17% of cell owners say the best thing about their phone is that it is convenient.12% like the ability to call or talk with others at any time.11% like that their cell phone can help them get assistance in an emergency.9% say that using the internet, email, or apps is the best thing about their mobile phone.8% cite the ability to connect with family

Mobile Access 2010

Presents survey findings on trends in wireless Internet use with cell phones or laptops, including sending photos, accessing social networking sites, and making charitable donations using cell phones by race/ethnicity, age, education, and income

Home Broadband 2010

Presents survey findings on trends in home broadband adoption as of May 2010, as well as views on the disadvantages of lack of broadband access and government's role in expanding it, by age, race/ethnicity, income, education, location, and Internet use