A year ago today, stunned citizens around the world --hungry for information about the crashes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a barren field in Pennsylvania -- jammed Internet news sites to learn more about the horrific acts of terror.
Others, eager to let friends and families know that they were safe, used e-mail to keep them posted on their activities or to re-establish contact with people they had not communicated with in years.
Still others -- seeking to make some sense of the shock and horror of collapsing buildings, dust-covered streets or men and women plunging to their deaths -- turned to chat rooms to share their grief, frustration and anger.
But a year later, did many of these new Internet readers remain? How are they now using the Internet to get their information? And what challenges do these changes pose in advancing the Internet as a communications tool?
Since Sept. 11, Internet use has grown steadily.
Last August for instance, 77.6 million people visited the 101 news and information Web sites tracked by comScore Media Metrix, a unit of comScore Networks Inc., based in Reston, Va.
But in September, readership jumped by nearly 11 percent, to 86.1 million.
"September 11 was one more moment, for a lot of people, when the value of the Internet became more apparent," said Harrison Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, an effort of the Washington- based nonprofit Pew Reserach Center for the People and the Press. "The whole range of human emotions were online - chat rooms, bulletin boards and list serves."
The number of visitors to CNN.com -- the world's No. 1 Internet news site, according to comScore Media Metrix -- more than doubled in September, to 30.7 million, from 11.9 million in August.
The results do not specifically break out the number of Internet readers on Sept. 11.
For SunSpot, readership rose nearly 19 percent last September, to 14.5 million, from 12.2 million the previous month.
"It happened in the morning," Steve Outing, senior editor of Poynter.org, the Web site of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla., said of the attacks. "A lot of people were in the office, and they were able to go online to get information."
But readership declined in the months after the attacks.
In October, 83.5 million people, about 3 percent fewer, visited the sites tracked by comScore Media Metrix - stablizing at that level for several months.
CNN.coms readership had dropped by more than 17 percent in October, to 25.4 million.
At SunSpot, October viewship remained at 14.5 million, but declined by 12.4 percent in November, to 12.7 million, and then to 12.4 million the next month.
These results follow the traditional pattern for Internet readership after a major event, Outing said.
"Theres a big spike when the event first occurs," he said. "Then it settles back down and then levels off.
"But where it does level off is more than it was before the event occurred," he said.
"I dont think that, day to day, people have changed their behavior [since Sept. 11]," Rainie added. "Their online behavior is no different from their off-line behavior.
"But people now know that the Internet is a useful tool in times of crisis."
Internet use also was helped by the anthrax attacks in Florida and in Washington last October, which brought many people to government and health-care Web sites for information on the chemical and how to deal with an attack, Rainie noted.
Overall, the rising Internet use was an extension of activitiy that had begun in 1998, when special prosecutor Kenneth Starr released his report on the Internet of his investigation of former President Bill Clinton and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Another key event was the 2000 presidential election, when George W. Bush won the White House in a protracted contest that eventually was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The Ken Starr report brought many people online," Rainie said. "They were able to go on the Internet and get the information, and more people realized that they could do this."
But the Sept. 11 attacks solidified the Internet's place as an viable communications tool, experts said.
"People werent relying on mainstream journalism," Rainie said. "News sites were important, but also e-mail was important in passing on information.
"People were bundling the news, repackaging it and forwarding it to their friends," he said. "They were taking it from other e-mails or news that they thought their friends might not have seen."
This rising readership has posed new challenges for the Web and news providers, including how to retain these people and how to translate these numbers into advertising dollars.
The Internet can keep its readership high if citizens know they can turn to it during a catastrophe, Rainie said.
"Sites will do well if they plan on what to do in a crisis," Rainie said. "Those that strip themselves of ads, graphics and pop-ups and provide the core information will be successful."
But this work is for naught if Web developers are not included, he said.
"The producer community is very important in a crisis," Rainie said. "They must be able to see the amount of effort, sensitivity and creativity needed to adapt their sites to whats on peoples minds.
"Readers want to see some acknowledgement that a cataclysmic event has occurred."
As for advertising, the continuing economic slump has prevented many Web sites from using their enhanced readership to grow their bases, but that soon may change, Web observers say.
For instance, a study published this week by Adage.com reported that 60 percent of 1,000 business decision-makers said that the Internet is the preferred and most effective way for advertisers to reach them.
The online research was conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings @plan and Minnesota Opinion Research, along with washingtonpost.com.
Nearly 50 percent of the respondents said in the study that the Web has influenced them to buy something or obtain a service for their business - and 50 percent of those who said they had increased their Web activity said they cut down their television watching.
"Ads will start to shift from traditional media to more online services," said Poynter.orgs Outing, also a columnist for Editor & Publisher magazine.
But Rainie gave an even clearer prescription for Web-advertiser success.
"The Internet is a very socially oriented technology," he said. "People use it to communicate with each other, to keep in touch.
"Businesses that figure out how to tap into those social things that people do online will make it."
Others, eager to let friends and families know that they were safe, used e-mail to keep them posted on their activities or to re-establish contact with people they had not communicated with in years.
Still others -- seeking to make some sense of the shock and horror of collapsing buildings, dust-covered streets or men and women plunging to their deaths -- turned to chat rooms to share their grief, frustration and anger.
But a year later, did many of these new Internet readers remain? How are they now using the Internet to get their information? And what challenges do these changes pose in advancing the Internet as a communications tool?
Since Sept. 11, Internet use has grown steadily.
Last August for instance, 77.6 million people visited the 101 news and information Web sites tracked by comScore Media Metrix, a unit of comScore Networks Inc., based in Reston, Va.
But in September, readership jumped by nearly 11 percent, to 86.1 million.
"September 11 was one more moment, for a lot of people, when the value of the Internet became more apparent," said Harrison Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, an effort of the Washington- based nonprofit Pew Reserach Center for the People and the Press. "The whole range of human emotions were online - chat rooms, bulletin boards and list serves."
The number of visitors to CNN.com -- the world's No. 1 Internet news site, according to comScore Media Metrix -- more than doubled in September, to 30.7 million, from 11.9 million in August.
The results do not specifically break out the number of Internet readers on Sept. 11.
For SunSpot, readership rose nearly 19 percent last September, to 14.5 million, from 12.2 million the previous month.
"It happened in the morning," Steve Outing, senior editor of Poynter.org, the Web site of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla., said of the attacks. "A lot of people were in the office, and they were able to go online to get information."
But readership declined in the months after the attacks.
In October, 83.5 million people, about 3 percent fewer, visited the sites tracked by comScore Media Metrix - stablizing at that level for several months.
CNN.coms readership had dropped by more than 17 percent in October, to 25.4 million.
At SunSpot, October viewship remained at 14.5 million, but declined by 12.4 percent in November, to 12.7 million, and then to 12.4 million the next month.
These results follow the traditional pattern for Internet readership after a major event, Outing said.
"Theres a big spike when the event first occurs," he said. "Then it settles back down and then levels off.
"But where it does level off is more than it was before the event occurred," he said.
"I dont think that, day to day, people have changed their behavior [since Sept. 11]," Rainie added. "Their online behavior is no different from their off-line behavior.
"But people now know that the Internet is a useful tool in times of crisis."
Internet use also was helped by the anthrax attacks in Florida and in Washington last October, which brought many people to government and health-care Web sites for information on the chemical and how to deal with an attack, Rainie noted.
Overall, the rising Internet use was an extension of activitiy that had begun in 1998, when special prosecutor Kenneth Starr released his report on the Internet of his investigation of former President Bill Clinton and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Another key event was the 2000 presidential election, when George W. Bush won the White House in a protracted contest that eventually was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The Ken Starr report brought many people online," Rainie said. "They were able to go on the Internet and get the information, and more people realized that they could do this."
But the Sept. 11 attacks solidified the Internet's place as an viable communications tool, experts said.
"People werent relying on mainstream journalism," Rainie said. "News sites were important, but also e-mail was important in passing on information.
"People were bundling the news, repackaging it and forwarding it to their friends," he said. "They were taking it from other e-mails or news that they thought their friends might not have seen."
This rising readership has posed new challenges for the Web and news providers, including how to retain these people and how to translate these numbers into advertising dollars.
The Internet can keep its readership high if citizens know they can turn to it during a catastrophe, Rainie said.
"Sites will do well if they plan on what to do in a crisis," Rainie said. "Those that strip themselves of ads, graphics and pop-ups and provide the core information will be successful."
But this work is for naught if Web developers are not included, he said.
"The producer community is very important in a crisis," Rainie said. "They must be able to see the amount of effort, sensitivity and creativity needed to adapt their sites to whats on peoples minds.
"Readers want to see some acknowledgement that a cataclysmic event has occurred."
As for advertising, the continuing economic slump has prevented many Web sites from using their enhanced readership to grow their bases, but that soon may change, Web observers say.
For instance, a study published this week by Adage.com reported that 60 percent of 1,000 business decision-makers said that the Internet is the preferred and most effective way for advertisers to reach them.
The online research was conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings @plan and Minnesota Opinion Research, along with washingtonpost.com.
Nearly 50 percent of the respondents said in the study that the Web has influenced them to buy something or obtain a service for their business - and 50 percent of those who said they had increased their Web activity said they cut down their television watching.
"Ads will start to shift from traditional media to more online services," said Poynter.orgs Outing, also a columnist for Editor & Publisher magazine.
But Rainie gave an even clearer prescription for Web-advertiser success.
"The Internet is a very socially oriented technology," he said. "People use it to communicate with each other, to keep in touch.
"Businesses that figure out how to tap into those social things that people do online will make it."