Trendsetters once more, gay people are slightly ahead of the curve
when it comes to using technology, particularly when it comes to
communication, a new online survey reveals.
Harris Interactive, in conjunction with Witeck-Combs Communications, a
strategic public relations and marketing firm that focuses on the gay
market, conducted an online survey of technology usage and found some
real differences between how gay and straight people use or acquire
new technology.
If you wanted to watch cable, for instance, you'd have more luck
finding a cable box at a gay person's home. More than two-thirds of
gay households, or 69 percent, have cable as compared with less than
two-thirds, or 61 percent, of straight homes.
At a gay household you would also double your chances of being able to
watch "Queer as Folk" in HDTV: 16 percent of gay households have HDTV;
only 8 percent of straight households have it so far.
Gay people may also stay slightly better connected than their straight
counterparts -- at least when it comes to cell phones. Eight in 10 gay
people, or 79 percent, have cellular service as compared with 72
percent of straight people. The survey also showed slightly more gay
people pick their cell phones and cell phone plans according to their
friends' and family's advice.
While showing the difference between the two communities, the survey
also suggests that such market information is important for companies
to know if they want to attract more gay customers.
"It's no secret that the cellular market is becoming increasingly
saturated, and these data can help marketers distinguish between GLB
and heterosexual consumers' use and purchase considerations," Jake
Stafford, senior marketing strategist at Witeck-Combs, said in the
firm's press release. "The research also suggests that as gays
continue to embrace emerging technologies such as HDTV, there is room
for innovations that would continue to spur the buying preferences of
trend-setting gay customers."
NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily
media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . New articles daily.
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Lisa Minter (lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com)