Who else is blogging, anyways?

I have to admit that before taking this course, I knew what a blog was, but I had never taken the time to write my own blog or read anyone else's. My knowledge of blogs was limited to the journal-type "me, me, me" self-absorbed emotional fests that my peers tend to participate in. Since classes are becoming much more technology-based, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into the blogging statistics.

Since spring of 2002, Pew Internet & American Life Project has been surveying people online and by phone to see who has heard of blogs, who has created their own blog sites, and who is participating in blogs. The research covers all blogging activity up until the end of 2004.

Their research shows that 7% of U.S. adults who use the internet have created a blog or web-based diary. 27% of internet users read blogs, a 58% jump from the 17% who said they were blog readers 8 months previously. By the end of 2004, 32 million Americans were blog readers. Some attribute the rapid growth in blog readership to politically-based blogs. 9% of internet users said they read political blogs “frequently” or “sometimes” during the campaign.

And who is creating these blogs? Their statistics show that likely blog creators are young (48% are under 30) males (57%). Most blog creaters have broadband at home (70%), are internet savvy (82% have been online for six years or more), and are well-educated (39% have college or graduate degrees). The statistics seem accurate, since the creator of this blog seems to fit the mold.

As we can tell even from our own class, some people are more inclined to comment on other people's blogs rather than post their own. 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs. In an age where almost everything is being done on the computer, I was surprised to find out that only 38% of all internet users know what a blog is. I may have never written one before, but I am proud to say I knew what a blog was.