Online America - classifications of Internet users

American Demographics, March 1, 2001 by Michael J. Weiss

Newcomers - those who've been online less than a year and log on for games and instant messaging (23 million Americans).

Experimenters - those online for one to two years who have begun to venture into more serious activities on the Web, such as comparing products, trading stocks, and getting news (27 million).

Utilitarians - Americans who've been online for three or more years and tend to use the Net as a tool for work-related research (30 million).

Netizens - the earliest Internet adopters who go online daily for work and play: to bank, trade stocks, pursue their hobbies, and connect to their friends (18 million).

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project

PRIZM SEGMENTS: TOP CLUSTERS FOR INTERNET USE Nielsen//NetRatings monitors the Web behavior of its 65,000 U.S. panelists using the 62 clusters of Claritas' PRIZM segmentation system. The five top clusters for Internet access follow:

Country Squires - the nation's wealthiest, small-town lifestyle type, where 85 percent of the residents have online access and regularly patronize travel and financial sites (1.0% of U.S. households).

Boomers & Babies - these young, white-collar suburban families frequently go online for entertainment and automotive information (1.3%).

God's Country - the executive families in this affluent rural cluster often log on for shopping and entertainment (2.7%).

Upward Bound - mostly young, upscale families in mid-size cities, these residents tend to devour online news and sports information (2.0%).

New Eco-topia - this rural mix of blue- and white-collar families have an online access rate of 79 percent and typically visit shopping and sweepstakes sites (1.0%).

Source: Claritas and Nielsen//NetRatings

TECHNOGRAPHICS SEGMENTS This segmentation system, built with survey responses from 125,000 North Americans, classifies consumers into 10 different groups according to their preference for technology.

Fast Forwards - affluent and career-focused early adopters of online technologies (10% of all North Americans).

New Age Nurturers - upscale, family-oriented consumers who are especially fond of educational software and Web sites (7%).

Mouse Potatoes - an entertainment-focused cluster whose wealthy consumers rank high in online usage and interactive games (8%).

Techno-strivers - students and entry-level employees who use the Internet for work research and career advancement (8%).

Digital Hopefuls - a low-income, family-oriented group with a passion for technology and the Net (8%).

Gadget Grabbers - lower-income consumers who regularly frequent entertainment-oriented Web sites (9%).

Handshakers - successful professionals with an aversion for all things technological (7%).

Traditionalists - a high-income, family-oriented group with little technology beyond VCRs (8%).

Media Junkies - upscale, entertainment-oriented consumers who love TVs, not computers (5%).

Sidelined Citizens - a kind of super-cluster filled with downscale technophobes who have only recently started to log on to the Internet (30%).

Source: Forrester Research