Blogging grows as an influential medium of expression
Technorati has just completed their run through of posts relating to their State of the Blogosphere 2009 report. The report examines the trends within blogging that have taken place over the past twelve months, exploring the changes in growth and demographic of the bloggers that responded to their survey.
There are some interesting findings within the report, which has been released over the past five days, and all indicators point towards blogging being stronger than ever. Whilst there are some who indicate – or possibly wish – that the influence of blogging is waning, the report shows that it is anything but.
Of course, the major trend of the year has been the monumental growth in the use of social media – with Twitter in particular being seen as highly influential on how blogging has evolved in the past year. The vast majority of bloggers still consider themselves hobbyists, sharing their own personal take on things for fun and intellectual exercise without much concern for personal profit. However, the report also shows that the industry of blogging continues to grow; with a larger percentage of respondents classifying blogging as either a part-time or full-time career.
Perhaps one of the most important findings – at least from our perspective – is that the bloggers surveyed spent almost as much time reading other blogs then they did watching television, and more so than any other form of information medium. To us, this is a promising outcome; as it shows a growing trend towards people listening to one another on a more personal level and stepping away from traditional corporate information streams – or at least mediating such streams through the personal voice and commentary that blogging brings with it. Indeed, the majority of respondents indicate that they saw the style of their writing as ‘journalistic’ in tone.
There is plenty more depth within the report, and I don’t want to try and cover all the statistical findings here as it’s definitely worth a look for yourself. Like all surveys, one could question how the data has been skewed by the audience that Technorati has – which is mainly the more savvy and self-aware blogger – however I don’t think that this necessarily effects their findings, particularly when they are compared to previous surveys done with the same audience.
Blogging is an important aspect of the ideological revolution that is taking place right now. The internet has facilitated a paradigm shift in the manner in which we communicate. Blogging, in many ways, spearheaded this shift; although recently one could argue that the baton has well and truly been passed onto the world of social media.
It is wonderful to see that blogs are maintaining, and even building upon, their influence in regards to how people access information and opinion. Whether it be about current events, learning, or just as an alternative form of entertainment, blogging is here to stay.
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