Comments on: Confirmed: The blogosphere is mainstream

Technorati surveyed a sample of about 1,000 bloggers and found that sites with 100,000 or more unique visitors are generating more than $75,000 in revenue.

[groink_hi]

I believe the main reason why mainstream media is switching to blogging is that the "middle man" - the editor or other executive - is taken out of the equation. Now, writers can post directly to the web instead of going through the traditional process of having articles read by others before posting. This allows for writers to post much more timely.

What I do not like about blogging in the mainstream media is that much of the blogging is written in the 1st person. I've been taught that if you write in the 1st person, then no none will take the article seriously. It makes articles all sound like editorials instead of a more traditional article written in the 3rd person. And last, it allows for the media sites to use blogging as an excuse anytime a writer is wrong about something, as in it isn't a news article but rather it is a blog, therefore it doesn't have to be precise.

In short, blogging is going to force us readers to concentrate even more on the validity of the information we read. If the media is going to switch to blogging, then make it obvious that what we're reading IS a blog and not a news article, such as what CNN is doing with iReport.

[bruceslog]

The best blogs include links to the facts.
And the best thing about blogs is that it isn't a 'press release' written by a White House staffer, etc., with the blind mainstream press just reiterating what slant on a story the press releases authors wishes the public to read.

[MatthewRhodes]

The Technorati report is interesting and shows how blogs, and social media more widely, really has entered the mainstream. There's another informative report out this week from MarketTools which also supports this - showing that the US pictures is even more developed than elsewhere.

Based on this data you can estimate that as many as 25m US consumers base their purchase decisions on things they read or see in social media. Impressive stuff.

I wrote a bit more about this and how to get to this number if anybody is interested:

http://blog.freshnetworks.com/2008/09/social-media-is-now-mainstream-25m-us-consumers-base-product-decisions-on-it/

Matt
FreshNetworks