Men and entertainment dominate bloggers’ park, says study

A recent study by MSN and Windows Live reveals that out of all Internet users in India, 14 per cent blog actively. And the time spent on blogging is considerable, according to the survey, which was analysed by Harris Interactive. More than 1,000 MSN portal visitors in India were surveyed online for the purpose of the study.

With 76 per cent of total bloggers being men, they clearly dominate the blogging arena, unlike in other parts of Asia, where both genders enjoy blogging equally. Blogs are more popular among young adults with 54 per cent of bloggers falling in the age group of 25-34 years, 32 per cent under the age of 25 and only 15 per cent over 35 years of age.

Another interesting fact that the survey unveiled was that business blogs (those written by business leaders) are read by almost half of all online users in India, followed by blogs by politicians, which were of interest to 24 per cent respondents. This is contradictory to the trend in other regions of Asia, where such blogs were not too popular.

The subjects that respondents enjoyed reading the most were technology (32 per cent), news and education (24 per cent), travel (10 per cent), films (9 per cent), sports (7 per cent) and others.

Having a platform for self-expression was the prime motivation to blog in India, with 58 per cent of bloggers starting a blog because they wanted to express passionate views; 40 per cent of them did so to entertain others through their writing. 

In India, almost 90 per cent of bloggers spend up to five hours a week reading blogs or updating their own blogs, suggesting the impact that social network activity is having on Internet consumption and use patterns.

The study also says that close to 45 per cent of respondents believed that blog content was as trustworthy as conventional media such as newspapers and television. This suggests the increasing effectiveness and popularity of the medium among Internet users.

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