Friday Favorite: The Pew Internet and American Life Project

One of the things I miss most about the vainglorious dot-com heyday is access to premium research. At the long-gone Web consultancy where I worked, we had subscriptions to all of the big names—an embarrassment of riches. With some chicanery, I managed to keep access to some of the accounts for a year or so after our office closed. Going back to school gave me student access to some great stuff. But, alas, even that has passed.

That's why I love the Pew Internet and American Life Project so much. (I've written about it before, but not as a Friday Favorite.) It's mission:

The Pew Internet & American Life Project produces reports that explore the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the Internet through collection of data and analysis of real-world developments as they affect the virtual world.

The PIP has published more than 200 reports thus far on topics ranging from demographics to "online activities and pursuits" to e-government to education. All are based upon the Project's own surveys and research, sometimes conducted with partners. Presentations on many topics are available and stats junkies can dig into the raw data. It's truly a treasure.

And here's the the best part: It's all free! Reports and presentations are easily downloaded in PDF/Acrobat format. You can sign up for e-mail notification of new reports. You can choose from a number of RSS feeds on various topics. There's even a blog-like commentary page that offers additional insights

My only difficulty with the Pew Internet Project? Keeping up with all of the great stuff they produce!