Since the “Swine Flu” outbreak started in Mexico, the world has been paying close attention to how the crisis develops. Last week we conducted a survey among 5,700 people from 8 different countries in Latin America (Argentina, Brasil, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela) to find out how was the swine flu outbreak impacting on peoples lives, what was the level of information and alarm and their understanding of the disease.

According to this eMarketer article (which quotes the latest comScore measurment) the Internet surpassed the 1 billion user mark. In fact, eMarketer puts the number at 1.172 billion when a broader sense of the definition is applied (counting access from Internet cafes, mobile phones or PDAs).
“Surpassing 1 billion global users is a significant landmark in [...]

A study focused in the usage of social networks in Latin America conducted by comScore found that 85% of Brazilian internet users over 15 years old (that have connected from work or home) have visited social networking websites.
The year to year growth is a significant 9% when compared to September 2007, when  the figure was [...]

In Livra we believe that having a good time is very important and that through having a good time we can improve the way we work together. At Livra, we traditionally do two annual events. One around mid year and one near Christmas. These events have the following objectives:

Get to know each other more
Learn more [...]

According to this Knowledge@Wharton article workers and professionals in Latin America are finally overcoming the connectivity gap that had always kept them behind.
The article cites an IDC study showing that 64% of entrepreneurs and independent professionals who use computers in the region are either “hyper-connected” or “more and more connected to the Internet” when they [...]

eMarketer has released a new study that shows the growth US Hispanic Internet users had since last year. The study also projects that by 2012 there will be nearly 30 million.
Something interesting about the US Hispanic population is that, as the article reminds, it is not a homogeneous market. Latinos in the US are spread [...]

We just announced the launch of our new recruitment websites, the new Livra.com.

The new website is a major overhaul from the previous version of Livra in a variety of ways. The most important features are the following:

Users can connect with friends and follow their activity (for example if they wrote reviews on products, or completed [...]

comScore has released their usual web rankings for the April 2008 period.
Brazil is still at the top with 19.3 Million users, Mexico and Argentina follow.
Here is the full chart:

The report gives a very complete picture of the Internet landscape in the region. Usage per country, top websites and other data.
Check the press release here:
comScore Releases [...]

A Research Live article reveals the results of a study about online virtual worlds used for research. The study was conducted by Gartner. In an interview, the author of the study gives some interesting points, here are some excerpts:
“If there is a community in a virtual world that is targeted, then fine,” he says. “Otherwise [...]

A report from eMarketer indicates that Hispanics in the US are heaviest media users. Citing a variety of sources (Terra, ComScore, Burson-Marsteller, Experian Simmons) the following findings are disclosed :
•  In February 2008 the average Hispanic-American over the age of 11 spent more time online than watching television.
•  Every day, more than half (56%) of [...]