On average, Britons spend a total of seven hours and nine minutes per day surfing the net, using mobile phones, talking on landline telephones, watching TV and listening to the radio, up from an average of just six minutes back in 2002.

Internet and mobile phones have seen the biggest usage increases: time spent on PCs and laptops grew fourfold between 2002 and 2007 – from six minutes to 24 minutes per person per day – while time spent talking and texting on mobiles doubled over the same period, from five minutes to 10 minutes per day.

However, landline phone use is diminishing: seven out of 10 people still use their mobile to make calls even when they are at home and have a landline there.

And one in 10 people with a landline at home say they never use it to make calls.

As early adopters, people in the UK continue to use text as a means of communicating.

Last year nearly 60 billion text messages were sent, up more than a third (36 per cent) since 2006 and an increase of 234 per cent since 2002 when 17 billion texts were sent.

The average mobile user sent 67 texts per month last year.

There were almost 74 million mobile connections by the end of 2007, serving a population of 60 million in the UK – an increase of 3.7 million connections since the end of 2006.

The total number of mobile connections has almost doubled since 2002, increasing by 48 per cent.

The data indicates that the fundamental shift in communications consumption that started at the tail end of the 90s has continued and the convergence trend is solidified.

People are more discerning about what information they consume, when and how.

Individuals tend to seek out information more than just passively accept what's sent their way.

The fact that people are using the internet while watching TV hints that they are probably ignoring commercials, in favour of pursuing their own interests online.

The internet too, is changing how people listen to radio.
Ofcom says the number of people listening to radio via the web has increased by a fifth (21 per cent) from 12 million to 14.5 million between November 2007 and May 2008.

At the same time, seven million households have a DAB radio set.

The implications for business are broad reaching.

It's essential to ensure that relevant information is available to everyone that your organisation depends upon, that is customers, shareholders, employees or any stakeholder.

Ofcom also reports that online advertising spends reached £2.8bn last year, up 40 per cent, and is now ahead of spending on the traditional terrestrial channels ITV1, Channel 4, S4C and Five for the first time.

This is an indication that the marketers are taking the online communications seriously.

However there are lessons to be learnt for most business units.

HR departments should be using text, intranet and social networks for essential employee communications.

Recruiters are already using SMS to get new vacancy announcements out to candidates.

Telecoms providers including Manx Telecom provide short code SMS services that enable you to blast out messages easily and cheaply.
Internet radio, or podcasting, also offers businesses an alternative.

They are inexpensive and relatively easy to produce and could be used for everything from training, shareholder updates, employee communications to marketing, PR and customer service. There is an old saying that goes 'you have to fish where the fish are' and this holds true with today's communications.

The bottom line is that, by recognising that people are using new media and that their attention is increasingly fragmented, companies can improve communications and in turn improve their businesses.


>>Sherrilynne Starkie is the managing partner of Strive Public Relations, a strategic communications consultancy serving the Isle of Man. Visit her business blog Strive Notes for frequent updates www.strivepr.com/notes or follow her on twitter.com/sherrilynne.