• Ah, studies! The things we love! The Pew Internet and American Life project just released a really interesting study about readership habits, with the key point being that online news is a huge chunk of readership nowadays. Here are a few key numbers and points, because we know that you guys like it when we do that for you:

The overall key number from this study:

• 59%like getting news on AND off the Web

We like mixing mediums:

• 92% get their news from multiple media platforms daily (as many as six)
• 2% get their news solely online – we call these people early adopters

Who reads what, where?:

• 78% like to get news from a local TV station
• 61% like getting their news on the Internet
• 50% still like reading news in a local newspaper

Online usage habits:

• variety Most people don’t have favorites. 65 percent don’t have a preferred site for their information.
• national Local news isn’t read so much online – weather and national news are much more popular.
• social Talkers are a big driver of news – three-quarters of people get news via e-mail or social media.

Lessons to take:

• » Newspapers need to focus on local: Many newspapers already do so. It’s their bread and butter, and the journalism they offer is still valuable. Readers agree, which is why they still prefer newspapers and TV for local news.
• » Can’t stop the Web: Online news is already ingrained into the public consciousness, and much of it is grabbed through social media. And it’s decentralized reading too. No point trying to plug it up at this point. In fact, it’s grabbing a massive hold on mobile phones, too.
• » People like talking about news: 72 percent of news-readers say that journalism is a social experience – they read because they like talking about it. Online, this means that social media needs to be a huge part of news-distribution efforts. source

• The finally unblocked Twitter, Facebook and so on. About time. For three years, if you used a military computer, you couldn’t access sites like Twitter and Facebook, despite the obvious advantages they offer. No longer. “The purpose of the policy is to recognize that we need to take advantage of these Internet-based capabilities,” said deputy assistant secretary of defense David Wennergren, “These Web 2.0 tools need to be part of what we use.” Even with the possibility of info leaks, we’re glad the military finally changed this policy. It came later than it should’ve. source

• Yeah, we get the point, guys. Geolocation is bad because it leaves your location open for people to take advantage of. But when Julius goes out tonight wearing a ski mask and preying on the poor residents of Dupont Circle who play FourSquare just a little too well, we’re going to want someone to hold the bag. We’re not going down for our crimes without taking someone else down with us! And, well, you’re it! source

• Think you know how to use social media to the fullest? The Obama administration might want to use your services. The prior social media queen, Mia Cambronero, is leaving, and they have a job opening for the position. They need your help to make sure Obama’s Twitter, Facebook and MySpace pages are well-updated. Note: One of the main qualifications is “Ready to work hard; this isn’t a 9-5 sort of job.” Secondary note: Newsbusters is freaking out because Cambronero is tied to MoveOn.org. source

• awful A blogger under the pseudonym Harriet Jacobs loudly complained in a post after the release of Google Buzz, due to the fact it allowed her abusive ex-husband to harass her.
• better After she wrote an epic blog post (now protected), Google dealt with her concerns (partially) and the media grabbed a hold of the story, too. She still plans to quit Gmail.

• We remember IRC back in “the day.” Internet Relay Chat, as the nerds called it, was a dangerous place and you never knew quite what you were getting into. Warez? Porn? Malware? Some dude who pretended to be your Internet friend but was really a 50-year-old man? And Chatroulette, a webcam-plus-anonymity phenomenon starting to get mainstream attention, is the 2010 version of IRC. Which is why it’s a minor (and fairly disturbing) phenomenon that will soon be forgotten. Here’s why:

• This is old-school Why, do you ask, is this old school? Because it takes all the adventure of the Internet, the risk and reward, and puts it on your screen. Back in 1996, this wasn’t the exception. This was the rule. This is the dangerous end of the Internet, the dark neighborhood at 2 a.m. It’s like Craigslist at its best.
• Not Web 2.0 at all Chatroulette’s interface is simple, but ragged. It isn’t forgiving. Like HotOrNot, you get one chance to make an impression. You don’t start relationships here. You see people. Then you don’t. There’s no friendly face here. This is the opposite of social media. It’s antisocial. Just like IRC!
• Oh, there’s nudity Perhaps the one factor which ruins Chatroulette’s chances of being anywhere near as popular as Facebook is that half the people on it are perverts. It’s not safe for work at all. Some people get a kick out of the anonymity, while others use it to be socially depraved. You’ve been warned. source

• one Five journalists will be locked away in a farmhouse in rural France for five days next month.
• two The journos will not have access to any form of mainstream media but Twitter and Facebook.
• three Among the sources banned: TV, radio, newspapers, smartphones and other Web sites.
• four The goal? To report what they see on social media, and to test the quality of the info. source