NetRatings finds 40% of online Britons use news feeds

A study by Nielsen//NetRatings found 40% of Britons receive automatic news feeds to their browser or desktop but 69% had never heard of Really Simple Syndication. About 15% of the people surveyed have heard of an iPod but are not sure what it is. A three-page Portable Document Format (PDF) summarizing the study is available from NetRatings.

The use of acronym’s caused a marked drop in user knowledge. 29% of those surveyed knew what “IM” meant but 86% knew the term “instant messaging.” The average online Briton now owns 4-5 digital or networked devices. 3G mobile phones were more common than iPods and DVRs were only slightly less popular than a gaming console.