A Look at the Future of Blogging PT 2

Blogs have existed in one form another as early as 1997. This two part series examines blogging today and how it might evolve in the coming years.


Adoption by Small Business

Expect to continue to see growth in business blogging. A recent article from eMarketer that 43% of US companies will be blogging by 2012. The data is impressive considering 34% of US companies are blogging this year and only 16% were taking part in 2007. The continued adoption of social media as a whole should only help. Medium to large sized businesses will use blogging as a customer service tool, a place to test new ideas, and as a marketing platform.

Adoption by Generation Y and Z

A study earlier this year from Sysomos.com shows that 53% of bloggers fall between the ages of 21 and 35. Only 7.1% of bloggers are over the age of 51. As the internet generation grows up, look to see blogging become more common. Generation Z (born in the 1990s or later) won't know a world without the internet and social networking.

The Rising Demand for Blogs

In the future blogs will become more relevant to the average person. A survey of 1000 American adults conducted by research company Synovate found that 4 out of every 10 people are reading blogs. 46% of those surveyed read the same blogs regularly. The Huffington Post, currently reported by Technorati.com as the most visited blog on the internet, is listed by Alexa.com as the 145th most popular website worldwide and 33rd most popular in the United States. News related blogging sites will continue a steady rate of growth as newspapers continue to decrease in popularity and more people flock online to get their news. Established humor, political commentary, celebrity gossip, tech, and business based blogs will expand their audience base. Developing blogs in niche topics such as parenting, entrepreneurial topics, sports analysis, new age thinking, religion, and travel will be sought after in increasing numbers.

Staying Local


Another trend to keep your eye on is location based blogs. Neighborhood and area code themed blogs specialize in providing a localized news source. Neighborlogs, a service still in beta, offers the opportunity to create a blog specially designed with integrated local business based advertising. Last year The New York Times launched a local blog to cover the areas of Maplewood, Millburn, and South Orange, and another to cover news in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. The city of Seattle currently has over 30+ local blogs.

Social Networking

The popularity of blogging will hinge on the continued growth of social networking. Social networking sites allow for blogs to be shared amongst friends and coworkers. The lifeblood of a blog is its reader base and sharing is one of the best sources of promotion. In the future expect to see the most active social network users make the jump over to blogging.