It’s a Blogomenon
New Generation of UK Extroverts Find their Voice Online
Reading – UK – 19 July 2006 Covering everything from fashion to fishing, technology to the top ten, the blogging phenomenon has now entered the mainstream of British online life, with 27 % of UK internet users writing a blog, according to a new report from the social networking site, MSN Spaces.
And far from hiding them away in a secret diary, 59% of traditionally reserved Brits blog to share their innermost thoughts and feelings in a form of public diary.
The MSN Spaces ‘Blogging Britain’ Report looks into who’s reading and writing blogs and the factors motivating them.
The UK’s Blogging Hotspots
Yorkshire is the blogging capital of the UK, with over a third (35%) of internet users there blogging. Bottom of the blogging pile is Wales where 16% keep a blog.
Percentage of internet users that blog:
1. Yorkshire 35%
2. South East 33%
3. East Midlands 29%
4. North West 29%
5. London 28%
6. Scotland: 25%
7. North East 24%
8. West Midlands 23%
9. Eastern 23%
10. South West 19%
11. Wales 16%
Dear Diary
When asked what they blog about, most people use their blog as a form of online diary (59%). Writing about a hobby also finished high (28%), while writing about travel (17%) and news and world events (12%) are also hot blog topics.
Power to the Blog
A key reason why Brits love writing blogs is the feeling of empowerment that it gives them. A fifth of bloggers (20%) say they blog to make their voice heard and 18% to express views on topics they are passionate about. Six percent used their blog to campaign for a political issue that is important to them.
Reality Blogs
When it comes to whose blogs we read, it seems our thirst for all things celeb fails to connect in the online world.
| • | Only one in ten (10%) read blogs for the latest celeb news |
| • | Two thirds (69%) of blogging Brits want insights into ‘real people’s lives’, preferring to read about everyday user’s thoughts and feelings. |
A third (33%) read blogs for the latest technology news, whilst 30% like to read about and hear new music. 28% read blogs for news, 25% for the latest film news and one in five (19%) for sports news.
Taking Blogs with a Pinch of Salt
It wasn’t all good news for blogs however. Only 4% saw blogs as a totally impartial form of information, with 64% taking what they read with a pinch of salt. Meanwhile 78% trust more traditional media and journalists more than bloggers to provide them with accurate information.
Would Like to Meet
The social networking aspect of blogging is a huge pull for Brits with 45% of bloggers making new friends from their sites. An elite 4% of British bloggers claimed to have over a thousand people as ‘friends’, regularly reading their blog entries and updates.
“Blogging has taken the UK by storm and allowed a nation to express itself in a hugely interactive way” said Cristiano Ventura, MSN Spaces marketing manager. “On MSN Spaces alone three million people in the UK have a blog, allowing them to express their thoughts and share pictures and music – either with the entire internet community or just with their friends. It remains to be seen whether blogging will take over traditional media, but growth in the next 5 years is going to be expediential.”
MSN Spaces will become part of the Windows Live Family this Summer. It is re-launching as Windows Live Spaces on 26th July.
About MSN.co.uk
MSN is a division of the Microsoft CorporationMSN is the UK’s largest portal attracting over 16.8 million visitors per month in the UK (Nielsen//NetRatings April 2006) and more than 465 million unique users worldwide (MSN Internal Data). Owned by Microsoft, MSN is available in 42 markets and 21 languages. MSN offers a wide range of Subscription products including Hotmail Plus and MSN Premium with state of the art parental controls, spam filtering software and photo editing tools.MSN provides a number of world class innovative communication and information services including:
| • | MSN Hotmail, the UK's most popular free web-based e-mail service with over 8.9 million users in the UK (Nielsen//NetRatings April 2006) and over 230 million active accounts worldwide (MSN Internal Data) |
| • | MSN Messenger, the UK's number one instant messaging service on the internet with10.9 million monthly users (Nielsen//NetRatings April 2006) and over 205 million active users worldwide (MSN Internal data) |
| • | MSN Search, one of the UK’s top search sites with 6.4 million users. (Nielsen//NetRatings April 2006). MSN Search is available in 32 markets worldwide and 13 languages. MSN Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search is available in 37 markets and 15 languages. |
About MSN Spaces
MSN Spaces was introduced in September 2004 and has over 100 million unique users worldwide, making it one of the fastest growing communication networks in the world. It is also the number one free blogging service in the UK.
Use MSN Spaces to:
| • | Upload photos, music and video |
| • | Share your thoughts and activities with friends |
| • | Syndicate with RSS – by using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) your Space can be read by an RSS newsreader or aggregator which allows people to receive updates on your Space as soon as you publish them. You can also add an RSS module into your space so that podcasts will automatically update. |
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.
| • | Visit the Microsoft UK homepage for further information on Microsoft products |
Contact information
Journalists should contact The Microsoft Press Centre. Telephone 0870 20 77377, lines are open 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday.
Customer enquiries should be directed to Microsoft on 0870 6010 100. Opening hours are 8.00am to 6.00pm.
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11. Wales 16%
