What's the number one myth people still hold about how Americans use the internet?

Many people assume that because everyone they know is online, all populations are online. That is not the case. There are pockets of non-internet users, particularly among older adults, recent immigrants, and those with less than a high school education. In addition, there is only a small population of internet users who take advantage of all the tools available to them. Many people are just not that into it. They may have the gadgets, but they do not use them, or they use them, but only grudgingly (see: the Technology User Types section of the Pew Internet Project site).

What are some of the main ways e-patients are using the Internet to transform the U.S. health system?

E-patients, or internet users who go online to gather and share health information, are at this point more likely to be transforming their own care, or the care of a loved one, rather than the U.S. health system. E-patients living with a chronic disease report they can find new treatments with the help of other expert patients in grassroots online communities (see Judy Feder's story for a recent example). More "professional" online communities are also helping to connect patients with clinical trials (see: these examples from PatientsLikeMe and Inspire). On a broader level, e-patients who are more likely to fall into the "worried well" category report that they use online health information to reassure themselves or to hone questions for that fleeting moment with a health professional.

Pew's data indicates that minority groups are heavy users of advanced Internet technologies like Twitter

and social networks. What's behind this trend?

It may be as straightforward as this: Younger Americans are a more racially and ethnically diverse group than are older Americans. Younger adults are more likely than older adults to go online, to own mobile devices, and to use social media. Mobile internet use is a key differentiator among all internet users and young people, particularly Latino and African American men, are adopting it at a faster pace than other groups. For more details, please see our new report, The Mobile Difference.

How do you think Internet technologies will influence the Obama administration's upcoming health reform efforts?

Since the Obama campaign harnessed the power of social media and virtual communities, it should not surprise anyone that the Obama administration is keen to do the same thing. E-patients have been leading the online health revolution for the last 15 years, also harnessing the power of community, and I hope that their passion, knowledge, and ingenuity is brought forward no matter what else is planned for health care reform.

How have social technologies influenced how Pew initiates, produces and responds to commentary about

its research?

Speaking for myself, the ability to communicate directly with people who follow and want to contribute to the Pew Internet Project's research has helped me to target important topics, sharpen survey questions, and tell better stories about what the data shows. Social technologies have widened the circle of who I can talk with beyond the one-on-one interviews and large-scale online surveys I conducted with e-patients in the early days of the Project or the conversations I have with people at conferences. Blogging at e-patients.net was my first big step into social media and I still love being able to write in a different voice than the more formal tone of a Pew Internet Project report. Twitter has pushed me even further into the constant conversation that social media can be. I learn so much and meet so many interesting people on Twitter I find that I save the time I would have spent keeping up with my RSS feed or attending conferences.

What's the one question you wish people would ask you in interviews? Now's your chance to answer it!

Is the Pew Internet Project really only 8 people? Yes. But we are embedded in the Pew Research Center and supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which is like having 100 other experts on staff.

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