Surprising that for all the Social Media that goes on in the United States - the U.S. Lags in Social Media Creation, according to a Survey conducted by Universal McCann.
Consumers in the U.S. and Western Europe are more likely to be passive social-media participants -- sharing videos and reading blogs -- while those in emerging markets often create content through blogging, social networks and video and photo sharing sites.
"By and large, in the U.S. we're a country of voyeurs," said David Cohen, U.S. director of digital communications at Universal McCann, which conducted the study. "We love to watch and consume content created by others, but there's a fairly small group that are doing that creation -- unlike China, which is a country of creators."
Strange, but I thought the United States was the leader in Social Media usage, but I think we need to compare active creation vs. consumption - which this study does.
Tom Smith, a research manager for the EMEA region at UM, said the gulf exists because blogs play a different role in the societies. In China, for instance, blogs tend to be about daily life rather than current affairs.
"Blogging in Western Europe and U.S. has been less of a community but conveying your opinion on different topics," he said.
Because of how widespread blogging is globally, UM declares it "rivals any mass media in terms of reach, time spent and wider cultural, social and political impact." For that reason, blogs represent an accurate reflection of trends and consumer opinions, according to the agency.
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