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Note: (1) ages 18+; includes contributing to online references such asWikipedia; (2) ages 16-54 with daily or every other day internet access; (3)ages 18+, maintain own blog; (4) ages 16-64; write own blog; data is for June; (5) ages 18+; ever create/work on own online journal/blog; (6) ages18+; publish a blog
Source: eMarketer, Aug 2010; various, as noted, 2009 & 2010118546 www.eMarketer.com
service is both beneficial and detrimental to blogging.Some former
bloggers now rely on Twitter as their main conduit of expression,
but many use Twitter as a marketing vehicle for their blogs.
At the same time, the growing use of blogging by media
organizations and marketers has raised the comfort level with
blogs as a news source, as a means of interacting with companies,
and as a forum for customer reviews and opinions.These trends
have empowered people to use the blogosphere to reach the
widest possible audience.
In “Technorati State of the Blogosphere 2009,”author Matt
Sussman writes: “While blog postings often focus on the local
issues of the specific blogger,the audience of such blogs is much
less limited than other forms of media have been historically.An
internet-connected world has expanded the marketplace of ideas
available to any individual anywhere.”
Factors Limiting Growth
At the other end of the spectrum,many internet users who onceblogged are shifting to other social media channels.The top three
reasons people blog,according to a BlogHer-iVillage study, are for
self-expression, for fun and to connect with others. Those
activities are increasingly carried out on Facebook,Twitter and
other social venues, making blogs less essential to a person’s
online presence.
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Further,the Technorati Blogosphere report found that 26% of
bloggers who use Twitter said the microblogging service had
caused them to reduce the amount of time they spent on their
traditional blogs. Users often employ Twitter as a teaser to drive
traffic to their blogs.But at the same time,Twitter can circumvent a
blog, particularly in situations where the user just wants to write a
short comment with a link to an outside source. Similarly, many
MySpace and Facebook users avail themselves of those networks
blogging services and blog-like features.
Adding to these trends,Cox Communications and Pew Internet &
American Life Project noted a significant decrease in the number
of teens who kept their own blogs.
Profile of Select Blog-Hosting Services, 2010
Blogger
Bloglines
Blogs.comFotolog
Friendster
LiveJournal
Movable Type
MySpace
Twitter
TypePad
Vox
Windows LiveSpaces
WordPress
Xanga
Parent company
Google
IAC/Interactive Corp.
Six ApartFotolog
Friendster
SUP
Six Apart
Fox Interactive Media
Twitter
Six Apart
Six Apart
Microsoft
Automattic
Xanga
Pricing
Free
Free
FreeFree; "Gold Camera" membershipstarts at $2.75 for 3 weeks
Free
Free and paid plans startingat $3 per month
Free and paid plans ranging from$395.95 per year (5 authors) to$995.95 per year (20 authors)
Free
Free
$8.95-$29.95 per month
Free
Free
Free and paid plans(custom pricing)
Free and paid plans rangingfrom $25-$45 per year
Source: company reports, 2010
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% of respondentsReasons that US Bloggers* Write Blogs, March 2010
Express myself 81.6%
For fun 80.6%
Connect with others like me 75.4%
Create personal record 68.2%
Give advice 50.9%
Earn money 31.6%
Persuade others20.2%
Note: n=912; *BlogHer site users only Source: BlogHer and iVillage, "2010 Social Media Matters Study"co-sponsored by Ketchum and The Nielsen Company, April 15, 2010
In the Cox Communications studya joint project with the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children19% of US
teen internet users reported blogging in 2010, down from 37% in
2006. Instant messaging also showed a decrease,but the
percentage with social networking profiles was up significantly.
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Pew reported that 14% of US internet users ages 12 to 17 blogged
in 2009,compared with 28% in 2006.The same study also noted
that fewer teens posted comments to their friends’ blogs in 2009
compared with previous years.
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Among 18- to 29-year-olds, the drop was only slightly less
pronounced, with 15% reporting blogging in 2009,compared with
24% in 2007.These findings were somewhat mitigated by an
increase in the number of bloggers ages 30 and up. However, teen
and young adult usage is a strong indicator of future trends,so the
balance of Pew’s data points to waning interest in blogging.
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% of respondents
Communication/Entertainment Activities of US TeenInternet Users, 2006 & 2010
Have personal e-mail address95%
93%
Have instant message screen name
84%
63%
Have mobile phone
63%
84%
Have social networking profile
61%
84%
Have blog
37%19%
Have game system
33%
45%
2006 2010
Note: 2010 n=1,032 ages 13-17Source: Cox Communications and the National Center for Missing &Exploited Children (NCMEC), "Teen Online Safety & Digital ReputationSurvey," June 14, 2010
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% of respondents in each groupUS Internet Users Who Blog, by Age, 2007 & 2009
18-29
24%
15%
30+
7%
11%
2007 2009
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, "Social Media and MobileInternet Use Among Teens andYoung Adults," February 3, 2010
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% of respondentsUS Teen Internet Users Who Blog, 2006 & 2009
2006 28%
2009 14%
Note: ages 12-17Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, "Social Media and MobileInternet Use Among Teens andYoung Adults," February 3, 2010
only available outlet for people or companies that
wanted to establish a feedback loop with their
target audiences.Today, blogging is one of a
variety of options businesses use to communicate
with customers, including social networking,
microblogging, photo- and video-sharing,and
customer reviews.
This expanded universe of options has encroached on personal
blogging.A study by USC Annenberg showed that 16% of social
media users relied on personal blogs in 2009,compared with 18%
in 2007.By contrast, the percentage of social media users who kept
profiles on Facebook more than doubled to 86% in 2009,from 41%
in 2007.This trend illustrates Facebook’s rise and self-sufficiency as
a blog-like platform.
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But the relationship between blogging and other social media can
also be symbiotic.The Retail Advertising and Marketing
Association (RAMA) noted that over 18% of adult social media
users reported using blogs, compared with 12% of average adults.
Although the survey did not specify whether respondents were
asked about reading,writing or commenting on blogs, the
underlying message is that social media users are more engaged
in a host of digital activities that include blogging.
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In a similar finding,the RAMA noted that 12% of social media
users were influenced by blogs to start an online search for a
product or service in 2009.Among average adults, the response
rate was only 8%.
% of respondents
Social Media Sites Used by US Social Media Users toKeep a Personal Blog or Profile, 2007-2009
MySpace
70%
69%
46%
Facebook
41%
56%
86%
Personal blog18%
17%
16%
hi5
2%
0%
1%
Other
23%
16%
12%
2007 2008 2009
Note: for self-publication, social networking or other purposesSource: USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future, "The DigitalFuture Project-Year Nine" as cited in press release, April 26, 2010
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% of respondents
New Media and Technologies Used by US SocialMedia Users vs. Average Adults, December 2009
Social mediausers
Averageadults
Mobile phone 74.9% 63.0%
Text messaging on mobile phone 51.9% 32.1%
TiVo/replay TV/DVR 33.8% 28.5%
Instant messaging online 31.2% 21.2%
iPod/MP3 player 29.5% 20.8%
Video gaming 26.8% 19.8%
Take picture/video on mobile phone 25.0% 16.1%
Watch video/TV online 23.2% 15.5%
Blogs 18.5% 12.3%
Satellite radio (XM-Sirius) 13.3% 11.8%
iPhone 12.4% 8.5%
Web radio 11.7% 8.4%
PDA 11.6% 8.4%
Watch video/TV on mobile phone 8.2% 5.2%
Note: ages 18+Source: Retail Advertising & Marketing Association (RAMA), "Social Media:An Inside Look at the People Who Use It" conducted by BIGresearch, March3, 2010
Further, a study by BlogHer and iVillage found that active social
media users read,wrote and commented on blogs at rates far
beyond average internet users.The study defined social media
activity as using the BlogHer site, so the survey responses
understandably reflected a predilection for blogging activity.
Nevertheless, the study illustrates a strong connection between
blogging and other forms of social media.
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Blogging platform Typepad estimated that adding a Facebook
“like” widget to a blog sidebar resulted in a 50% increase in traffic
from Facebook to that blog.This was based on a test conducted in
the spring of 2010 with 1,500 Typepad blogs.Similarly,adding the
Facebook widget to blog post footers resulted in a 200% traffic
increase for 2,400 Typepad blogs tested.The Typepad report
noted:“There’s no denying that readership on Facebook can have
a powerful impact on a blog’s traffic with the right tools.”
Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net, a leading proponent of usingsocial media to promote blogs, advocated using the blog as
“home base” and social media sites as “outposts.”
In September 2009, Rowse posted a video on ProBlogger.net that
described his approach, which he said was inspired by fellow
blogger Chris Brogan.“The idea is you build a home base for what
you do,and your home base is something you have complete
control over,” said Rowse.“Around the home base I interact in a
variety of other places… The activities that I’m doing on the
outposts are quite similar to what I do on the home base but
they’re there to reinforce and build the home base.”
For Rowse, the outposts are social media spaces including
Facebook,Twitter, LinkedIn,YouTube, digg and Friendfeed, all of
which he uses to steer traffic to his home base at ProBlogger.net.
% of respondents
Online and Offline Activities Among Active* US Social
Media Users**, March 2010
Reading blogs
96%
Watching TV
88%
Listening to radio
86%
Facebook
82%
Commenting to blogs
69%
Writing blogs
68%
Reading message boards
68%
Reading print magazines
64%
Reading print newspapers
54%
Commenting to message boards
45%
Note: n=1,550; *use social media weekly or more; **BlogHer site usersonly Source: BlogHer and iVillage, "2010 Social Media Matters Study"co-sponsored by Ketchum and The Nielsen Company, April 15, 2010
Note: (1) ages 18+; includes contributing to online references such asWikipedia; (2) ages 16-54 with daily or every other day internet access; (3)ages 18+, maintain own blog; (4) ages 16-64; write own blog; data is for June; (5) ages 18+; ever create/work on own online journal/blog; (6) ages18+; publish a blog Source: eMarketer, Aug 2010; various, as noted, 2009 & 2010