comScore, Inc. recently released results of a study showing that the health information site category has grown 21 percent during the past year, more than four times the growth rate of the total U.S. Internet population. In June, more than 1.5 billion display ad views were seen by nearly 54 million people via sites in the health information category.

According to a recent Yankelovich survey, Going Green, of 2,763 consumers and their environmental attitudes, only 34% of consumers feel much more concerned about environmental issues today than a year ago. And less than one-quarter of consumers feel they can make a difference when it comes to the environment. J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich, concludes that "While (consumers) are highly aware of environmental issues due to the glut of media attention... 'going green' in their everyday life is simply not a big concern or a high priority."

The Quarterly NFIB Research Foundation Small Business Economic Trends Data reports that the Index of Small Business Optimism rose 2.9 points to 91.1 (1986=100), continuing one of the longest strings of recession level readings in the history of the survey (started in 1973). Two-thirds of the gain was due to a dramatic improvement in the percent of owners expecting the economy to improve over the next six months, says the report. Though the direction of change was positive, there's a long way to go to restore normal levels of the Index to the average reading of 100.

The 2008 Ipsos Mendelsohn Affluent Survey, measuring male and female heads of household living in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., who have household incomes of $100,000 or more, represents an estimated 19% of all American adults. The 2008 survey results are projected to an estimated 42 million affluent heads of house living in an estimated 23.3 million households.

According to a recent Harris Poll, 45 percent of Americans believed that rebate checks would help stimulate the economy. Now that summer is over and the rebate checks are cashed, 52% of Americans say spending the checks did not stimulate the economy and only 37% say that it did. Though 36% have spent at least some of their rebate, 38% indicate how they intend to spend more, suggesting promotional opportunities remaining to marketers.

A recent study conducted by NewMediaMetrics found a significant difference in the types of digital behavior embraced by the X and Y generations when it comes to child raising. Gen Y is much more attached to media that connects them to other moms (online communities, blogs, video-sharing sites, etc.), while Gen X moms are more likely to embrace the web for task-oriented activities like shopping online and uploading photos. The study concludes that this might signify a shift in the way that marketers should be targeting the next new generation of moms online.

According to the First Annual Voter Expectations Survey from E-Voter and HCD Research, an overwhelming majority of voters responding expect candidates to use online technology as part of their campaign efforts. 87 percent expect they will have a Web site, and 70 percent expect the use of email.

According to the 2008 biennial news consumption survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, audiences for most traditional news sources have steadily declined, as the number of people getting news online has surged. However, today it is not a choice between traditional sources and the Internet for the core elements of today's news audiences, notes the report, since a sizable minority of Americans find themselves at the intersection of these two long-standing trends in news consumption.

According to a recent survey from the Association of National Advertisers, 53 percent of marketers from a broad cross-section of categories and industries expect their advertising budgets to be reduced in the next six months as a result of the tough economic climate, and 87 percent of those polled are already being challenged to find cost savings or reductions within current marketing and advertising efforts.

According to the most recent comScore, Inc. ranking of the top online display ad publishers and advertisers, Fox Interactive Media, as the top display ad publisher got 15.9 percent of all display ads viewed, while Microsoft was the top display advertiser with 1.7 percent of total views. Experian gets the most unique visitors with 138 million. And, Forrester projects that of the $8.2 billion, retailers will spend this year on online marketing, just over a third, $2.78 billion, will be spent on display advertising.