Some argue that the sexual revolution has yet to place men and women on a level playing field. The digital revolution, however, may be closing that gap. Harris Interactive's annual 360 Youth College Explorer Study, released today, found that men and women engage in online gaming, downloading music, and digital photography, as well as text messaging, at similar rates. Commissioned by Alloy's youth media and marketing division, 360 Youth, the study evaluated consumer technology and entertainment usage of college students ages 18-30. Although differences between the sexes have emerged from the research, it's clear that this demographic on the whole--of which 65 percent uses the broadband Internet daily--is far more "wired" than the general population, of which only 37 percent uses broadband.

TV stations are winning a growing share of the annual $16 billion U.S. daily newspaper classified ad market, according to a new report from Classified Intelligence, a consultancy based in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

Online dating sites are increasingly attracting 18-to-24-year-old lovelorn singles—offering prime opportunities for marketers to target the younger demographic, according to a new report on online dating by Hitwise.

The ad offering a reward for information about damage to a Scene news rack included, in jest, a photo of the paper's restaurant critic. Kay West says it was disrespectful of publisher Albie Del Favero to run her mug without her permission. The Scene's Matt Pulle writes that he doesn't like the implications of the ad, which is one more episode in a dispute that began in October with West's not-so-flattering review of a pizza joint called MafiaOza's. He notes that "restaurant critics everywhere carefully guard their identities to avoid tipping off food establishments to their presence."

With its reputation as a "party catalyst," tequila is associated by many with fond if fuzzy memories (or fantasies) of collegiate wild times involving single shots, spring flings, and other youthful antics. Cuervo, the world's leading tequila brand, believes that that image gives its drink far too little credit and fails to reflect the fact that millions of people now enjoy Cuervo Gold well beyond graduation day into mature adulthood - not only for Cinco de Mayo parties, but year-round.

ËœPop-up at your own peril," warns a paper released this week by English consultancy Bunnyfoot Universality. The findings, which come a week after MSN announced it was banning the dreaded pop-up ads from its network, note that 60% of people tested believe the ads could make them mistrust the brand being advertised. To make matters worse, the study found that 50% of users closed the ads before they fully opened and only 2% saw the name of the brand being advertised. Said Rob Stevens, director-business behavior at Bunnyfoot: Brands are undoubtedly committing commercial suicide by insisting on pop-ups. The effect of such techniques goes way beyond simply annoying the user, they frustrate, they impose and they engender mistrust.

In its 2003 report, "Online Dayparting: Claiming the Day, Seizing the Night," media research firm Minnesota Opinion Research Inc. discovered significant shifts in media consumption habits among online users of newspaper sites. Peak news reading time is 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. As the day goes on, mainly between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., interest in the news genre dissipates, while interest in entertainment and event resources picks up the slack. At night, consumers switch gears again to concentrate on jobs, cars, homes, and shopping content.

An important new study based on a rarely done, but highly regarded form of media research - direct observation of media consumers - is raising new doubts about the veracity of conventional forms of audience measurement, and is providing new ammunition for proponents of new methods, especially Aribtron's portable people meters. The study, which was released Wednesday by Ball State University's Center For Media Design, also suggests planners and buyers may be grossly misallocating advertising budgets across the media mix based on actual media consumption patterns.