Research by the University of California, Los Angeles, has shown that Googling fights dementia. “It’s not so much the Internet itself as it is the seeking of new information and keeping your brain stimulated with new things,” said study team member Susan Bookheimer.

Engaging in puzzles like Sudoku puzzles or immersing yourself in a new hobby, have very similar benefits. Unlike a hobby, the research team highlighted that the Web is less likely to bore users after prolonged use.

The study found that using search engines would create activity in the inferior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus—areas of the brain that are important for short-term memory and decision-making.

The research speculates, but has not proven, that using search engines may help slow down the onset of dementia and slow cognitive decline.

“Becoming involved in new things and keeping your brain active are all hallmarks of activities that would tend to preserve your cognitive skills,” Bookheimer said. “And these are all things that searching the Internet for new information really does.”

Hitwise launched analysis of Twitter this week, revealing some interesting points including one out of every 350 website visits in the U.K. comes from Twitter, that barely 5% of Twitter users go to online retail service websites from Twitter and that 93% of Twitter’s growth has been achieved over the last 6 months.

This low e-commerce referral activity, I would presume is due to the fact that most profiles linking to ecommerce sites would be the brands looking to be purchased. The only independent feedback would have to be from followers of the profile, which would mean that most independent Tweets would be positive. With the expectation of so much positive sentiment about the brand, it’s no wonder that users aren’t inspired to purchase from Twitter, but would more than likely use at some point during research.

The recent IBM Institute for Business Value research has shown that mass marketing alone struggles to reach the diverse digital audience.

In order to reach these fragmented audiences marketers need to produce niche offerings and contextual approaches that are tailored specifically to emerging platforms, directional offerings and new experiences.

The research references a Lead M&E Analyst of a global research firm, which highlights the shift in consumer power:

“Consumers can no longer be considered ‘the audience’ – they are simultaneously readers, editors and marketers, especially the younger demographics.”

With this quote in mind and the continual adoption of social media, I feel it is becoming more and more beneficial for brands to allow those active within social media complete access to brand collateral.

The ability to track brand sentiment across social media offers a safety net to brands that open up their archives to bloggers. This strategy offers a cost efficient way to reach this diverse digital audience and if a brand is still worried about the limited control in social media then it could limit any perceived threat by restricting to launches.

Maybe this strategy could take the place of microsites built around launches. By providing bloggers with uniquely created and exclusive animated assets, creatives and images for the launch (that you would expect to see on a launch microsite) the brand gets over the biggest hurdle of a bespoke microsite, getting traffic to it, as the blog already has an established audience.

Early Jan ‘09 the Wall Street Journal wrote a piece about the ‘New Info Shopper’, those consumers that pour over information before making any purchase, from a £20,000 car (as you’d expect) all the way down to a tube of toothpaste.

With the internet close to hand at all times these shoppers can research from their desk at work, on their commute from mobile or from their laptop at home – my phone has a bar code scanner so I can compare where I can get the best price for that product. This easily accessible information makes the consumer very powerful and has the potential to create a shift in consumers purchasing on brand name alone to purchasing based on facts.

With the economic climate as it is these consider purchases highlight the need for brands to explain the stories behind their brand and why their product is a better choice over their competitor.

The WSJ showed that these consumers have become highly suspicious of TV ads, with 78% of this consumer group feeling that TV ads no longer had enough information in them. With the internet the new place to window shop, the WSJ has coined the phrase ‘Windows Shoppers’, the success of Net-a-Porter definitely demonstrates this.

The findings also showed that 92% of respondents said they had more confidence in information they seek out online, than that of a salesclerk or other source.

The WSJ also showed that 70% of Americans now say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before they make their buying decisions. Sixty-two percent say they spend at least 30 minutes online every week to help them decide what and whether to buy, in the under 45s this audience made up 73%.

I believe that this research has shown that as part of a brands digital communication it must make available all information about that brands products, heritage or news. Consumers will find it, whether it’s on an unofficial fan page in Facebook or the blog of a brand advocate. With this in mind it is imperative that brands provide the most detailed assets for these social media PR engines e.g.  Product shots in the highest resolution or detailed insight to the product designer’s inspiration behind the new launch, so as to provide these unofficial brand pages or blogs with the tools to create the most detailed review of the brands product/history/news, minimising conjecture.

Within the luxury and premium sector this type of collateral is easily available, with great heritage and contemporary information that is always news worthy. If you then ad to this the emotive connection that these brands have with their consumers, it is possible to leverage these brand advocates within social media to provide detailed touch points for those ‘New Info Shoppers’.