State of the Blogosphere 2010 Introduction - Page 2
7,200 bloggers responded to our survey this year, our largest response ever. As with our report last year, we have chosen to display our results in terms of four different types of bloggers.
Hobbyists – Hobbyists remain the backbone of the blogosphere, representing 64% of respondents. Hobbyists say they blog for fun, and do not report any income from their blog. It's not surprising, therefore, that 51% say they blog to express their personal musings, and 74% say they measure the success of their blog according to their level of personal satisfaction.
Part-Timers – Although blogging is not their full time job, Part-Timers (13% of the blogosphere) devote significant time to their blogs, with 61% saying they spend more than three hours blogging each week, and 33% saying they update their blog at least once a day. Part-Timers “blog to supplement their income” or “blog as part of their full time job,” but only report a mean annual non-salary income of $6,333. The fact that their personal and business motives for blogging are deeply entwined is not shocking: 63% say they measure the success of their blog by the number of unique visitors, while 56% say they also value personal satisfaction.
Corporates – The smallest cohort, representing just 1% of respondents, Corporates are the only bloggers who say they “blog full-time for a company or organization”—however, only 24% of them report spending a full 40 hours per week blogging, and only half report that they receive a salary. The mean annual non-salary income that Corporates report is $17,101, while 54% report an annual household income of $50,000 or more, indicating that this blogger type is supplementing his or her household income by blogging, rather than making a living off of it. 57% blog to share their expertise and experiences with others, while 39% blog to get published or featured in traditional media. Corporates are the most likely to have worked in traditional media prior to blogging.
Self-Employeds – After Hobbyists, Self-Employeds make up the largest cohort, representing 21% of bloggers. Such bloggers say they “blog full time or occasionally for their own company or organization.” 57% say they own a company and have a blog related to their business, while 19% report that their blog is their company. 65% say they manage their blog by themselves. Reflecting their professional nature, Self-Employeds are the most likely to blog about business, with 62% saying they have much greater visibility in their industry because of their blog.
METHODOLOGY
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