Blogging Actually Not Quite Dead Yet!
Mar 8th, 2012 | By James Lewin | Category: Citizen Media, iPods & Portable Media Players
Every couple of years, Wired, the New York Times or some random tech pundit declares that blogging is dead.
Most recently, the NYT said that blogging was dead because the young are switching to Twitter – as if they were interchangeable.
Stats from Nielsen, though, show the number of blogs growing at a steady pace for six years, from about 36 million in ’06 to 173 million last year.
Here’s how they profile bloggers:
- Women make up the majority of bloggers;
- Half of bloggers are aged 18-34;
- Bloggers are well-educated: 7 out of 10 bloggers have gone to college, a majority of whom are graduates;
- About 1 in 3 bloggers are Moms, and 52 percent of bloggers are parents with kids under 18 years-old in their household; and
- Bloggers are active across social media: they’re twice as likely to post/comment on consumer-generated video sites like YouTube, and nearly three times more likely to post in Message Boards/Forums within the last month.
While the buzz may wear off blogging, podcasting and other forms of citizen media, it probably means that the technology has matured and moved into a steady growth phase – exactly what the Nielsen stats show.
The NYT announcing the death of blogging is:
…like the pot calling the kettle black.
…wishful thinking.
….like the lonely kid peeking over the backyard fence and wishing he could play with the cool kids too.
…an indication that they have no idea what is happening in the creation and dissemination of content.
…just sad.
All the above?