Another report from the people at Pew
The Pew Internet Project yesterday issued its latest report on the Internet habits of Americans, Counting on the Internet.

The Internet is becoming an important source of health information:
"When asked where they will go for information the next time they need health or medical information, Internet users are about as likely to say they will turn to the Internet for information as they are to contact a medical professional; 46% say they will find health care information online next time they need it and 47% say they will contact a medical professional. Overall, 31% of all Americans say they will find it online, while 59% say they will contact a medical professional."

As far as business is concerned:
"For business, it is clear that an online presence is important, regardless of whether a business actually sells its wares over the Internet. If a store provides product nformation online, even if it doesn’t sell products at its Web site, nearly half of all Americans (46%) said this would make them more likely to go to the physical store to buy the product. About the same number (45%) said it would make no difference, and these numbers were the same for Internet users and non-users alike." In other words, "having a Web site helps a business even if the site does not enable transactions."

You can down load the full report from the Pew website in pdf format.

Another recent Pew report is Email at work, issued earlier this month.