(Via the Center for Media Research; registration required)
According to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, relatively few Americans are familiar with the phenomenon of blogging.
Although 75% of the U.S. public uses the Internet, only one in four Americans are either very familiar or somewhat familiar with blogs (the shortened form of the original "Web logs"). More than half, 56%, have no knowledge of them.
According to a December 2004 Gallup Poll, the percentage of Americans getting their news on a daily basis from the mainstream media is 51% for local television news, 44% for local newspapers, 39% for cable news networks, 36% for the nightly broadcast network news, and 21% for radio talk shows. By contrast, only 3% of Americans say they read Internet blogs every day, and just 2% read politics-focused blogs daily.
Blog readers are younger than the population at large. Although 17% of the public is aged 18 to 29, a quarter of all blog readers (those who read even occasionally) are in this age bracket... Gallup finds no gender differences in blog readership, or according to party affiliation. There are slight differences by political outlook, as about a quarter of liberals (24%) say they read blogs at least monthly, compared with 15% of conservatives and 12% of moderates.
More info at Gallup.com (purchase required)
I happen to have a fantastic boss. Oh sure, there are 'issues'. But overall, he's got true vision (oh, how I wish that word wasn't overused), and determination, and he's one of the most inspiring people you'll ever meet. He also happens to be very loyal, and value good people. I really haven't seen anything like it.
Some of the issues revolve around normal the "entrepreneur's business has gotten too big to micromanage" stuff, and well...some other things.
However, he LOVES ideas. He's an idea guy. He loves hearing them, gets excited about them when backed up by good data. He is all about the next idea.
Because everyone (and I do mean everyone) has this great reaction to his message, I have been trying to push more and more that his 'voice' is really our 'brand'. And thus, finally, today, mentioned blogs.
He said, "What did you say? What are you saying? Are you saying 'blog'?" I showed him examples of what I meant (including this blog), and talked about it being another vehicle to use to connect, to relate. I do think it's the right sort of thing for this company.
But did also try to temper his enthusiasm for the 'new'. After all, I have my reservations about blogs. After all, I heard about them a few years ago and it seemed I'd entered the narcissistic land of the self-indulgent programmer. (Conversely, it turned out to be a great way for friends and family to stay in touch.) I'm always cautious because we don't always know that the one writing the blog is truly an expert.
But I'd also made the point earlier today in my own post on my new blog (spurred on by your earlier Brandshift) that there seems to be an 'uproar' regarding Apple and blogging. But that's only if you read blogs. And pose the question, using that case as an example, how many people does that truly mean? I hear Internet stats that sound huge, but then think that in the big scheme of things and taking population stats into account, it still seems small.
Not everyone is on the Net, those who are, aren't all blogging. And those who are, are typically younger. That doesn't seem surprising to me at all. And while I like blogging and will definitely be putting it into our corporate arsenal (and am having fun myself!), let's not race to overestimate it either.
Posted by: Deb | March 22, 2005 at 04:51 PM