Report: Blogging Falls to Facebook and Twitter

#promote. Blogging marked the start of the online revolution and while the industry is still soaring, it's charting a new course. A new study shows bloggers still want to share their views with the world, but just in 140 characters or less. According to Technorati, 78 percent of bloggers use Twitter and the number one reason bloggers use the social networking site is to promote their own blog. Technorati's annual State of the Blogosphere 2010 report shows that social media is becoming increasingly indispensable for bloggers, with 87 percent using Facebook, in addition to the 78 percent on Twitter. They do so to promote their own blogs, share interesting links, stay informed with news and events, and measure what people are paying attention to online. Technorati has conducted the study for the past six years to analyze blogging growth and trends. This year, the study specifically examined brands in the blogosphere, professional blogging activities, how bloggers are making money, the importance of Facebook vs. Google to bloggers, and the impact of new trends, like smartphones, on the blogosphere. Overall, respondents are spending more time engaging in online activities than they were in 2009, and spending significantly more time reading social media sites. Specifically, bloggers spend more time on social media sites each week than reading other blogs. Bloggers spent an average of 9.9 hours on social media sites each week, compared to just 5.5 hours among the American general population. The findings were released this week by Technorati President and CEO Richard Jalichandra in his annual "State of the Blogosphere" address at the ad:tech conference in New York City. The study divides bloggers among their reasons for blogging, from the "hobbyist" blogger who writes for pleasure to the "corporate" blogger who writes for their company, with "self-employed" and "part-timer" falling in between. What's drawing bloggers into social networking this year seems to be what makes it attractive to us all: time. As compared with 2009, hobbyist bloggers are updating their blogs less frequently. The number of bloggers updating once or twice per day significantly decreased, while the number updating once every few weeks significantly increased. Across audiences, bloggers were more likely to share blog posts with their social media followers than with their blog readership, indicating that social networks are seen as a marketing tool by each group. A deeper dive into the study found some interesting results when it comes to bloggers' uses of Facebook and Twitter specifically. Among them: 81 percent of bloggers use Facebook to promote their blog, while 64 percent use it to interact with readers. 45 percent see Facebook as a more effective driver of traffic to their blog than a year ago, while 34 percent report the same for Twitter. 73 percent of hobbyists versus 88 percent of professionals use Twitter, and more than half of all bloggers link Twitter to their blog. One third of Twitter users, meanwhile, say they prefer Facebook to post short updates and links. 33 percent of all bloggers report tablets and smartphones have impacted their blogging style.

Social Pro Daily

Report: Blogging Falls to Facebook and Twitter

#promote. Blogging marked the start of the online revolution and while the industry is still soaring, it's charting a new course. A new study shows bloggers still want to share their views with the world, but just in 140 characters or less.

Katie Kindelan

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Katie Kindelan