Whether to look up the latest product reviews or to connect with other moms through social networks, American moms are particularly active online.

Recently, we challenged information design enthusiasts of all experience levels to use Nielsen data and create compelling visual stories and insights as part of the Nielsen Data Visualization Contest. We’re pleased to announce the winner of the Judge’s Choice Award is Dustin Poh, a student at Montclair State University.

In March 2012, a majority (50.4%) of U.S. mobile subscribers owned smartphones, up from 47.8 percent in December 2011.

During March 2012, 212 million Americans were active online in March 2012, spending nearly 30 hours on average browsing the web.

In February 2012 about one in four Americans who were active online visited tax-related websites, representing more than 53 million Americans on the top tax websites.

As candidates prepare their social media strategies for the 2012 elections, NM Incite took a look back at four races during the 2010 midterm elections to measure the impact of social media on voters.

Almost half (49.7%) of U.S. mobile subscribers now own smartphones, as of February 2012. According to Nielsen, this marks an increase of 38 percent over last year; in February 2011, only 36 percent of mobile subscribers owned smartphones.

Blogs are sometimes overlooked as a significant source of online buzz in comparison to social networking sites, yet consumer interest in blogs keeps growing. By the end of 2011, NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey company, tracked over 181 million blogs around the world, up from 36 million only five years earlier in 2006.

Which Super Bowl XLVI team is winning the online competition? According to Nielsen and NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey company, it might be a draw: the New England Patriots had more visitors on their team’s website, but the New York Giants have more buzz on social media.

During December 2011, there were 164.3 million unique U.S. video viewers who streamed over 22 billion videos and spent more than 5 hours on average watching online video.