Would you pay for Twitter?

Almost 2,000 Web users were asked that question as part of USC's Center for the Digital Future project, and a grand total of 0 percent answered in the affirmative. That's right, no one would pay for Twitter. Not that Twitter has any plans to charge its users, but it does point up the difficulty of getting Internet users to pay for something they already get for free, said Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future at USC's Annenberg School. From the report:

The current study reveals a profile of American Internet users who go online more than ever, almost two-thirds who buy online, most households now using broadband, a majority of families that own two or more computers, and large percentages of users saying that the Internet is important in political campaigns. However, troubling issues emerge as well, with the study finding large percentages of users who express deep distrust in online information, surprising gaps in Internet use within some age groups, low percentages of users who said that the Internet gives them more political power, and continuing declines of users who say that online technology makes the world a better place.

Some other interesting results from the Digital Future Study:

--Half of Internet users never click on Web advertising.

--55 percent said they would rather see Web advertising than pay for content.

--The Internet is used by 82 percent of Americans.

--The average time online is 19 hours per week.

--Among respondents age 46 to 55, 19 percent do not use the Internet.

--56 percent of Internet users ranked newspapers as important or very important sources of information.

--18 percent said they stopped a subscription to a newspaper or magazine because they get the same or related content online.

--22 percent of users who read newspapers said they would not miss the print edition of their newspaper.