An overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories. Among the journalists surveyed, 89% said they turn to blogs for story research, 65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and 52% to microblogging services such as Twitter. 61% of reporters use Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia. Most journalists said that social media were important or somewhat important for reporting and producing the stories they wrote, according to a study by George Washington University.

Social networking continued to gain momentum in 2009 with nearly 4 out of 5 Internet users visiting a social networking site in December 2009. The activity now accounts for 11% of all time spent online in the U.S., making it one of the most engaging activities across the Web, according to a new study by comScore.

For the first time ever, smart phones with touch screens accounted for more than half of all smart phone shipments globally in Q4 2009, taking 55% of the market. Touch-screen smart phone shipments were up 138% year on year in Q4, reaching almost 30 million units, in a quarter where overall smart phone market growth stood at 41%. The total touch-screen smart phone shipments for the year at over 75 million, more than double the 2008 figure. Total smart phone shipments in 2009 hit a new peak of 166 million units, according to a new study by Canalys.

The shift of marketing budgets from traditional channels to digital channels will continue to rise in 2010 with 46% of companies plan to increase their marketing budgets in 2010 and 66% will increase their investments in digital marketing channels. 28% of marketers are shifting at least some of their overall marketing budgets from traditional to digital channels, according Econsultancy survey.