Ignore bloggers at your peril, say researchers

[rodeodance]

Email newsletter from American Progress.com

And finally, the Guardian headline says it all: “Ignore bloggers at your peril, say researchers.” “Bloggers and internet pundits are exerting a ‘disproportionately large influence’ on society, according to a report by a technology research company.”

So I clicked on the article:



http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1755777,00.html

Ignore bloggers at your peril, say researchers

· Online pundits 'influence businesses and opinion'
· Companies are falling foul of negative net buzz

Bobbie Johnson, technology correspondent
Tuesday April 18, 2006
The Guardian

Bloggers and internet pundits are exerting a "disproportionately large influence" on society, according to a report by a technology research company. Its study suggests that although "active" web users make up only a small proportion of Europe's online population, they are increasingly dominating public conversations and creating business trends.

More than half of the internet users on the continent are passive and do not contribute to the web at all, while a further 23% only respond when prompted. But the remainder who do engage with the net - through messageboards, websites and blogs - are helping change the national conversation, say researchers.

"We're seeing this growing," said Julian Smith, an online advertising analyst with Jupiter Research and author of the report. "The strongest part of their influence is on the media: if something online suddenly becomes a story in the local press, then it matters."

Although unprompted contributors are generally younger and more vocal than the wider online population, they are increasingly important as opinion formers and trend-setters. Mr Smith says businesses, media organisations and advertisers reading blogs should be wary of making assumptions about their wider significance, but that their muscle cannot be ignored......

[xultar]

1. YEAH fuckin' WHO!

[havocmom]

3. Yep! They hate us for our freedom (& imitative) where they can't control

They allowed for the consolidation of media to control the message. Those media moguls must be madder than wet hens about bloggers!

:woohoo:

Power to the people, with a little critical judgment about what one reads might save our asses yet!

[thinkingwoman]

2. disproportionately large influence?

Hey, do you think they mean an influence on the scale of what founded this country? Like we (the internet blogging and message boarding community) are the new pamphleteers? Like we're rogue and not under admin control like major media outlets?

:rofl:

Yeah, they ignore us at their own political peril all right. And if they don't like it, I say they can just suck it. :evilgrin:

[DELUSIONAL]

4. Bloggers mirror human culture

I'd say most people just go about their day -- doing their job and getting through life -- they don't respond unless some poller manages to find them at home.

Then you have the folks that vote or speak out --

And then you have the activists -- the mouthy types.

Take DU for instance -- thousands of members -- what is the percentage of members who post: infrequently, seldom, often, or compulsively?

Some DU posters stand out and when their name is attached to a thread -- many of us click to see what their opinion is.

Catwoman -- BossHog are two threads I clicked on today -- because I saw that they authored that particular thread. There are lots of other names that I click simply because I've learned to trust their insight and wisdom or take on current events.

[KurtNYC]

5. Perhaps online research is pushing out more scientific sampling

The cost of doing polling and surveys is fairly high. Getting good numbers out of product surveys or phone polls is part art and part science. Perhaps, like the MSM, the tough research isn't getting done as often--they are Googling their product name and looking at blog write-ups. This turns sampling science on its head.

Ideally when you sample a population you are trying to get a small sample that has all the elements of the larger population. The metaphor of minestrone soup is often used: if you pull up a spoonful that has pasta and no beans, you may think you have pasta soup, etc. The trick is to get that elusive good sample with everything in it but forget all that...the way they are doing it is like having having the sample select itself.

[fishnfla]

6. Not yet the "reality based community"

but rapidly getting there. The beauty is, the establishment media, some big business, and almost all of the government do not get it. The WH especially is stuck in dinosaur time (Their press conferences prove it)

The irony here is, I would have never before heard, the "reality based" phrase and a million other facts, quotes and figures, ifn' it weren't for the Web

Rock on bloggers

[Boojatta]

7. "disproportionately large influence"

Out of proportion to what?

the number of bloggers who have degrees in journalism?
the amount of money spent?
the quality of the words that have influence?