Bloggers in the US are focused on describing their personal experiences to a relatively small audience of readers and only a small proportion focus their coverage on politics, media, government, or technology, a survey has revealed. These are some of the key findings in a report issued by the Pew Internet & American Life Project titled Bloggers.
The report, written by Senior Research Specialist Amanda Lenhart and Associate Director Susannah Fox, says that while many well-publicised blogs focus on politics, the most popular topic among bloggers is their life and experiences. Most bloggers say they cover varied topics, but when asked to choose one main topic, 37 per cent cite "my life and experiences" as a primary topic of their blog. Politics and government are a distant second with 11 per cent citing those issues as the main subject of their blogs.
Entertainment-related topics are the next most popular blog-type, with 7 per cent of bloggers, followed by sports (6 per cent), general news and current events (5 per cent), business (5 per cent), technology (4 per cent), religion, spirituality or faith (2 per cent), a specific hobby or a health problem or illness (each comprising 1 per cent bloggers). Other topics mentioned include opinions, volunteering, education, photography, causes and passions, and organisations.
The project deployed two strategies to interview bloggers. First, bloggers were identified in random-digit dial surveys about Internet use. These respondents were called back for an in-depth survey between July 2005 and February 2006, for a final yield of 233 bloggers. Second, additional random-digit surveys were fielded between November 2005 and April 2006 to capture an up-to-date estimate of the percentage of Internet users who are currently blogging. These largescale telephone surveys yielded a sample of 7,012 adults, which included 4,753 Internet users, 8 per cent of whom were bloggers.
Bloggers, most of whom have a high-speed connection at home, are highly likely to read news online. Ninety-five percent of bloggers get news from the Internet and 71 per cent do so on a typical day. Bloggers' news reading outpaces even home broadband users, who are among the most enthusiastic online news readers. By comparison, 80 per cent of home broadband users get news online and 63 per cent do so on a typical day.
Bloggers gather news from diverse sources. Fifty-five percent get news from email newsletters or listservs and 34 per cent do so on a typical day. By comparison, 48 per cent of home broadband users get news from an email newsletter; 29 per cent of home broadband users do so on a typical day. Not surprisingly, about half of bloggers turn to blogs as a source for news. Forty-seven percent of bloggers say they get news from blogs and 26 per cent do so on a typical day. By comparison, 9 per cent of Internet users say they get news from blogs and 3 per cent do so on a typical day.
Bloggers are also typical of the rest of the Internet population when it comes to motivations for reading news online. Forty-two percent of news-reading bloggers (and 40 per cent of all online news readers) say they go online to get news and information because it is more convenient. Twenty-eight percent of news-reading bloggers (and 29 per cent of all online news readers) say they get news online because they can get information from a wider range of viewpoints on the Web.
Nine percent of news-reading bloggers (and 24 per cent of all online news readers) say they get news online because they can get more in-depth information on the Web. Eighteen percent of news-reading bloggers (and 2 per cent of all online news readers) say their reasons are a combination of all three choices.
Bloggers are also avid consumers of off-line sources of news and information, but no more so than other Internet users. On a typical day, bloggers are about as likely as other Internet users to get news from newspapers, TV, magazines, and the radio. Eighty-five percent of both groups (Internet users and bloggers) read newspapers and about half do so on a typical day. About nine in ten internet users, and the same share of bloggers, watch television news and between two-thirds and three-quarters do so on a typical day. A bit more than half of both groups read magazines for news and about one-quarter do so on a typical day. Three-quarters of both groups listen to radio news and about half do so on a typical day.
There is not necessarily a one-to-one relationship between bloggers and blogs. A little more than half of all bloggers (53 per cent) have just one blog, but another 17 per cent have two blogs, and 26 per cent author three or more. Of bloggers who report having more than one blog, more than half (61 per cent) say that they have three or more blogs. Not surprisingly, bloggers with more blogs report spending more hours per week on average tending their blogs than do single-author bloggers. It is also not clear whether all of the blogs of multi-bloggers are currently active.
Only one-third of bloggers see blogging as a form of journalism, yet many check facts and cite original sources. Thirty-four per cent of bloggers consider their blog a form of journalism, and 65 per cent do not. Fifty-seven per cent include links to original sources either "sometimes" or "often." Fifty-six per cent of bloggers spend extra time trying to verify facts they want to include in a post either "sometimes" or "often."
Overall, the most frequently reported journalistic activities are spending extra time verifying facts included in a posting, and including links to original source material that has been cited or in some way used in a post. Just a bit more than a third of bloggers (35 per cent) say they have done these two activities "often." Another 22 per cent say that they "sometimes" engage in these practices on their blog.
Verification of facts was more likely to be reported by bloggers over age 30 and those with a college degree. Those with greater levels of education were more likely to link to original source material than those with less formal education. Just one in seven (15 per cent) bloggers say they quote people or other media directly on their blog "often," and another 12 per cent of bloggers say they often seek permission before posting copyrighted material to their blog.
Conversely, more than two in five bloggers say they "never" quote sources or other media directly in their blog. Women who blog, younger bloggers, and those with less education are more likely than other groups of bloggers to report "never" quoting directly. Just 11 per cent of bloggers often post corrections on their blog.
Most bloggers say they post to their blog when something inspires them. Fully 70 per cent of bloggers only post when inspiration strikes, while 22 per cent of bloggers usually update on a regular schedule. A lucky 4 per cent of bloggers say that both options are true: inspiration strikes on schedule. Another 4 per cent say that neither mode describes their posting habits, or they were not sure.
Bloggers are major consumers of political news and about half prefer sources without a particular political viewpoint. Seventy-two per cent look online for news or information about politics; by contrast, just 58 per cent of all Internet users do so. Forty-five per cent say they prefer getting news from sources that do not have a particular political point of view; roughly the same percentage of the general Internet population agrees. Twenty-four per cent prefer political news from sources that challenge their viewpoint; and 18 per cent choose to use sources that share their political viewpoint. Bloggers' responses are similar to those of the general Internet users'.
Some 54 per cent of bloggers say that they have never published their writing or media creations anywhere else; 44 per cent say they have done so. While generally youthful, these writers otherwise represent a broad demographic spectrum of people who cite a variety of topics and motives for their blogging. Eight percent of internet users, or about 12 million adults, keep a blog. Thirty-nine percent of Internet users, or about 57 million adults, read blogs – a significant increase since the fall of 2005.
Despite the public nature of creating a blog, most bloggers view it as a personal pursuit. Fifty-five per cent blog under a pseudonym, and 46 per cent under their own name. Eighty-four per cent bloggers describe it as either a "hobby" or just "something I do, but not something I spend a lot of time on." Fifty-nine per cent spend just one or two hours per week tending their blog. One in ten spend ten or more hours per week on blogs.
