ABSTRACT Higher attention traditionally has translated into higher advertising revenues for media. With a multitude of options to choose from on the Internet, however, advertisers often are tempted to turn away from outlets with mass appeal toward niche outlets, which often have loyal audiences. In this high-choice media environment, where people purportedly are consuming content per their personal preferences and attitudes, on what basis do audiences fragment? This study examines associations between users and usage of the 2,000 most popular websites in the United States. Results indicate that popularity predicts usage, and audience niches are less prevalent than commonly assumed. The findings are a cautionary tale for advertisers targeting a more loyal audience by dissociating with traditional big media, turning most of their spending toward smaller niche outlets.

中文翻译：

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以小而忠实的小众受众为目标的神话

摘要传统上，更高的关注度已转化为更高的媒体广告收入。然而，在Internet上有众多可供选择的选项，广告商通常倾向于从具有吸引力的网点转向利基网点，而这些网点通常是忠实的受众。在这种高选择的媒体环境中，据称人们根据个人喜好和态度来消费内容，受众在什么基础上分散？这项研究调查了用户与美国2,000个最流行网站的使用之间的关联。结果表明，流行程度可以预测使用情况，受众壁ni的普及率要低于通常的假设。对于广告客户而言，与传统的大媒体脱节，这是针对那些更忠实的受众的广告客户的警告性故事，