AP reports that blog readership grew significantly in 2004, driven by increased awareness of them during the presidential campaign and other major news events.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 27 percent of online adults in the United States said in November they read blogs, compared with 17 percent in a February survey.
“Twenty-seven percent of online adults in the United States said in November they read blogs, compared with 17 percent in a February survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.”
“… Though blog readership jumped, the percentage of online Americans who write blogs grew only slightly – to 7 percent in November, up from 5 percent early in the year. Blog creators tend to be male, affluent, well-educated and young; 70 percent of them have high-speed connections at home, and 82 percent have been online at least six years.
Despite the attention to blogging, a large number of Americans remain clueless – only 38 percent of Internet users know what a blog is: online agglomerations of ideas, information and links, usually presented with the most recent postings on top, and often offering a mechanism for visitors to post comments.”
Steve Rubel is a PR strategist with nearly 16 years of public relations, marketing, journalism and communications experience. He currently serves as a Senior Vice President with Edelman, the largest independent global PR firm.
He authors the Micro Persuasion weblog, which tracks how blogs and participatory journalism are changing the public relations practice.
