The Current Blogging Phenomenon

There are well over 12 million blogs, and 40,000 new blogs are started everyday (Demopoulos, 2007).

The Pew Internet Study estimated that 27% of Internet users were regular blog readers at the end of 2004. That's approximately 32 million people who regularly read blogs. Blog readership jumped 58% in 2004. There is a lot of room for growth as 62% of Internet users are not sure what a blog is. The blogosphere – the world of blogs – is doubling in size every 5 months! Some blogs have millions of readers per month (Demopoulos, 2005). The list below is the most influential blog in Malaysia according to Technorati rank:

i. Kennysia.com
ii. SapiensBryan.com
iii. Hemmy.net
iv. JeffOoi.com Screenshot
v. LiewCF.com
vi. Yasmin The Story Teller
vii. Afdlin Shauki
viii. PaulTan.org
ix. Alex Allied
x. Rocky’s Bru

http://www.sabahan.com/2007/02/06/50-most-influential-blogs-in-malaysia/

In the findings conducted by the media agency Universal McCann, which surveyed young, heavy internet users and found that nearly 30% of them in Britain had never heard of blogs, the ones who visit blogs and would leave comments on them are only 10% of them (Brook, 2006).

However, in Malaysia, women bloggers made up 64% of respondents, while men lagged at 36%. The survey also found that a large majority of bloggers (74%) are below 25 years old, with another 21% between 25 and 34 years old (Microsoft, 2006).

These are the key findings in Survey: Youth and Self-Expression Drive The Art Of Blogging In Malaysia.

·74% of bloggers are 25 years old or younger
· 64% of bloggers are women
· 81% are most interested in blogs by friends or family
· 48% of bloggers like to write their thoughts or comment on the world around them
· 34% of bloggers like to have their own personal corner of cyberspace
· 50% said boring blogs are biggest turn-off

http://www.microsoft.com/malaysia/press/archive2006/linkpage4337.mspx

Blogs contributes to the various fields that will eventually make an impact on. As mentioned by Hughes and Kellman (2009), as blogs gain traction amongst a wider and more educated following, their essence as an ungoverned, uncontrolled medium for exchange will continue to grow beyond the reach of borders and governments. The next generation of blogs will be more action oriented, not just commenting on real time events, but driving those events. A blog amplify one’s voice, it gives an individual the ability to communicate globally and enable bloggers to engage with each other’s ideas.

Reference:

Demopoulus, T 2005, Understanding Blogs, The Current Wave of the Information Revolution
Accessed 11 October, 2009
http://www.effectiveinternetpresence.com/articles/blog-speech-transcript.htm

Sabahan.com 2007, 50 Most Influential Blogs in Malaysia,
Accessed 11 October, 2009
http://www.sabahan.com/2007/02/06/50-most-influential-blogs-in-malaysia/

Brook, S 2006, Blogs struggle to impress in UK, Guardian,
Accessed 11 October, 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/jun/20/pressandpublishing.newmedia

Microsoft.com 2008, Women Rule in Malaysian Blogosphere,
Accessed 11 October, 2009
http://www.microsoft.com/malaysia/press/archive2006/linkpage4337.mspx

Hughes, D., & Kellman, R., 2009, Blogging’s Global Impact and the Future of Blogging, Technorati.com
Accessed 15 October, 2009
http://technorati.com/blogging/article/day-5-twitter-global-impact-and/page-2/