It’s not just that people in the UK might not know what the geeks mean by “blogging,” they might get it mixed up with something completely different.
A London unit of ad power Omnicom took the pulse of the public to find out just how far some terms like podcasting and blogging had taken hold. Reuters notes that in DDB London’s research, conducted by chatting with hairdressers, cab drivers, and pub owners, polite confusion seemed to reign over the Empire.
The report found that nearly 90 percent of those surveyed had no idea what a podcast might be. Blogging had a little more recognition, with only 70 percent of the participants unfamiliar with the concept.
Podcasts are just web-published audio programs, covering whatever topics the podcaster wishes to discuss. Blogs, a corruption of the phrase “web logs,” means an online journal. The unfamiliarity may mean advertisers need not rush too quickly to embrace new technologies.
At least podcasting didn’t have the same confusion level some people had with blogging. Reuters quotes DDB London’s Sarah Carter on what a few persons thought blogging entailed, and helpfully explains the concept:
“When I asked the panel whether people were talking about blogging, they thought I meant dogging,” said Sarah Carter, the planning director at ad firm DDB London.
Dogging is the phenomenon of watching couples have sex in semi-secluded places such as out-of-town car parks. News of such events are often spread on Web sites or by using mobile phone text messages.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
