Curated by: Luigi Canali De Rossi
 


Thursday, September 25, 2008

The Typical Blogger Profile: State Of The Blogosphere 2008

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Bloggers are sexy men. At least according to Technorati's report this is true. Your typical blogger is male, intelligent, ranks among the high-middle class, and in his primes. Sexy is of course subjective, but having intelligence, wealth, and youth can't hurt.

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Photo credit: Mario Lopes edited by Daniele Bazzano

Although men are the majority, women are by no means out of this game. Over a third of bloggers are women, but unlike their male counterparts, they tend to be older; their writing tends to be more family oriented; and they are much savvier about monetizing their blog. So men if you want advice on how to drive traffic to your blogs and pay for your next vacation, the answer may be no further than your wife.

Not surprisingly, the world's bloggers are predominantly North American or European. Considering that Technorati represents the English speaking blogosphere, this isn't all that exciting. If you like 'em young though, consider going Asian. According to this report, 73% of Asian bloggers fall in the 18-34 age, which is significantly higher than either Europe or the United States.


What is exciting, however, is that...

"Blogging is no longer a new phenomenon. Half of bloggers who responded are on at least their second (or 8th!) blog, and 59% have been blogging for two years or more."

Additionally nearly half of the bloggers surveyed consider themselves to be professional bloggers. So rather than writing for their company or about their life, these individuals are taking their own free time to give us a broader perspective on and understanding about their areas of expertise. The point to take from all this: bloggers know what they are talking about, and they aren't afraid to share.


 

Who Are The Bloggers?

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Bloggers are not a homogenous group, but they are an educated and affluent one: three out of four U.S. bloggers are college graduates, and 42% have attended graduate school. They skew male, and more than half have a household income over $75,000.

They are experienced: although it has only recently exploded into the mainstream, blogging is not a new phenomenon. Half of bloggers are on their second blog, and 59% have been blogging for more than two years.

Over the next several days, we will introduce you to some of the bloggers who participated in our study. We are highlighting bloggers with a range of motivations, topics, profitability, and sophistication, so you can see how diverse the blogosphere really is.

 

Who Are the Global Bloggers?

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  • Two-thirds are male
  • 50% are 18-34
  • More affluent and educated than the general population
    • 70% have college degrees

    • Four in ten have an annual household income of $75K+

    • One in four have an annual household income of $100K+

  • 44% are parents

 

U.S. Bloggers Are More Educated and Affluent than the General Internet Population

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Compared to the general Internet population, U.S. bloggers are more male, single, and employed full-time.

One-third of bloggers are 25-34 (versus 19% of Internet users), and one in five are self employed (versus 8% of Internet users). Three out of four U.S. bloggers are college graduates, and 42% have attended graduate school. More than half have a household income over $75,000. As a group, they are educated, affluent, and influential.

 

Within the United States, Bloggers Are Located Across the Country

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The majority of bloggers do NOT live near the largest metropolitan areas.

Within the U.S. we saw the highest concentration of bloggers in the San Francisco Bay Area (followed by New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles). However, we did hear from bloggers across the country, from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Bangor, Maine, with Bentley, North Dakota, in between.

 

Blogging Is A Global Phenomenon

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Although our survey was only administered in English, we heard from bloggers on six continents (although we're sure someone is blogging from Antarctica). We had respondents from 66 countries, who publish blogs in 20 different languages.

  • 43% of blogger respondents live in the U.S.
  • 72% publish their blog in English (survey was only provided in English)

 

Nearly Half of Active Blogs Have Some Authority

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In looking at the just over 5 million blogs tracked by Technorati who posted in June, 45% have a Technorati Authority number of 1 or more, meaning they can truly claim their place in the active blogosphere.

Hundreds of thousands of individual blogs, which make up the top 10% of blogs as measured by Technorati Authority, and more than 75,000 bloggers have an authority of 50 or more -- meaning at least 50 other bloggers found their content worth linking to.





Bloggers Self-Identified As Personal, Professional, or Corporate

state-of-the-blogosphere-2008-who-are-the-bloggers-segments.gif

Bloggers are not a homogenous group. One way of segmenting bloggers is by their blog type:

  • Personal: blog about topics of personal interest not associated with your work
  • Professional: blog about your industry and profession but not in an official capacity for your company
  • Corporate: blog for your company in an official capacity

Four out of five bloggers are personal bloggers who blog about topics of personal interest. About half of bloggers are professional bloggers -- blogging is not necessarily their full-time job, but they blog about their industry or profession in an unofficial capacity. 12% of bloggers blog in an official capacity for their company.

Of course, these groups are not mutually exclusive. More than half of professional and corporate bloggers are also personal bloggers. This could be on a separate blog, or they may blog about personal interests within their professional blog.

  • Corporate bloggers:

    • 69% are also personal bloggers

    • 65% are professional bloggers

  • Professional bloggers:

    • 59% are also personal bloggers

    • 17% are corporate bloggers

 

Bloggers: Not New Kids on The Block!

state-of-the-blogosphere-2008-who-are-the-bloggers-tenure.gif

Blogging is no longer a new phenomenon. Half of bloggers who responded are on at least their second (or 8th!) blog, and 59% have been blogging for two years or more.

Non first-time bloggers contribute to four blogs on average, and the average blogging tenure is three years.




See also:




Originally written and prepared by the Technorati team and first published on September 22nd 2008 as "State of the Blogosphere 2008 - Who are the bloggers?". Reprinted here in full with author permission.

Technorati Team -
Reference: Technorati [ Read more ]
 
 
 
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posted by Daniele Bazzano on Thursday, September 25 2008, updated on Tuesday, May 5 2015


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