The Blog Economy of 2010

December 21st, 2010 35 Comments

Ever wonder about the blogonomy? Don’t look so confused! Put 2 and 2 together and you’ll be sighing in no time ;).

So who’s blogging, from where and why?

Below, is a fantastic infographic by the Grasshopper Group, which reveals all you need to know about this year’s blog economy.

One thing I did notice however, is that Technorati is one of the main sources for these statistics.

So my question is, whether this infographic takes into consideration only those English (language) blogs that are listed in the directory? If so, it would be mean a few things. Two of which:

  • Although these numbers are a very interesting take on the state of the 2010 blogosphere, they wouldn’t be an accurate representation of bloggers worldwide.
  • nittyGriddy – as well as a considerable amount of others – will not have been included here. In my case, it seems that my blog is not in English. Ha! At least that’s what Technorati’s been claiming since June 3rd, and therefore (after numerous unanswered emails and forum postings) am still waiting for my posts to become indexed in the mother of all blog directories. Hmmm…

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Where and how do you fit in here?

Blog Economy The Blog Economy of 2010

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About the Author

Ingrid Abboud aka 'Griddy' is a whole lot of things with a ridiculous amount of interests. For one, I'm a Social Media enthusiast with a tremendous passion for writing and blogging. I'm also a pretty cool Copywriter but a more serious MarCom Consultant. But most of all, I'm the proud owner and driving force behind nittyGriddy.com - A Kinda Social Media Journal with Net News & more.

Visit Griddy's Website
  • http://www.localmanchesterescorts.co.uk/ Lio Ray

    I’m inquisitive about the detail that says 81% of bloggers have been blogging for 2 years. My gut says that detail is WAY off. Technorati’s state of the blogosphere is only a modest window into online journals and blogging. In spite of the fact that that is generally detail, at any rate. Be that as it may my gut says MOST bloggers online journal for a couple of months and stop it. So I speculate everything hinges on upon what their meaning of “blogger” is.

  • http://www.smokingnono.com/ Quit Smoking

    Thanks for sharing fabulous information.It’ s my pleasure to read it.I have also bookmarked you for checking out new posts.

  • http://www.blistmarketing.com Brandon Yanofsky

    Interesting. Especially the revenue breakdowns.

  • Anonymous

    Great info to have if you’re participating in the blogoshere Ingrid… I wonder if Facebook will ever take off with bloggers – haha

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hey Mark

      The info is definitely interesting but I’m not sure how 100% accurate it is. But yes, it’s great to have indeed – especially when presented in such a creative way.

      Hmmm..interesting thought about FB and bloggers. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tackle that soon.

      Nice to see you here and thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts :). Appreciated.

      Cheers

      • Anonymous

        As a self-employed professional that uses blogging to to promote my business, the issue with Facebook is very basic — lack of control. FB has shown a tendancy to change the rules when they feel like.

  • http://twitter.com/UlrichZA Ulrich Holtzhausen

    There is a lot to be taken from these statistics. Africa having no margin in the blogging community for one and secondly, the fact that only 1% of bloggers actively use Digg. Their empire from 2007 has greatly crumbled to the depths of the internet.

    Lately most discussions about Digg are similar to this, how great it used to be and what it is now.

    Now, to come back to African bloggers – I would agree there probably are not as many. The main reason being internet usage in general is low due to 1. Low income and 2. High internet prices and 3. Lack of education.

    However, there has been a particular increase among my fellow South African bloggers (to my surprise) and I have even noticed a “South African Twitter” created by a regular old blogger. Perhaps African people don’t have their blogs on TC.

    We have Afrigator etc. as similar to TC I suppose.

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hi Ulrich,

      Thank you for your very insightful comment :).

      You bring up some very good points indeed. I too was rather surprised to see the mere 1% that still use Digg as well as the 3% that Stumble. But then again – I had questions of my own regarding the accuracy of this infographic which I already stated in the actual post and again in a few of my replies to comments here. They mostly pertain to Technorati being a main source for this graphic and therefore may not include all the non-English blogs or the ones that aren’t registered in the Directory.

      As for me, I rarely use either – Digg and StumbleUpon. I often hear that I should focus on SU much more as it does help generate traffic and more. But in regards to Digg, I’ve come across a lot of negative reviews since their redesign. But like I said – since I don’t often use the site I’m not one to judge and have no real or backed-up take on the topic. I used to actually think that it was a great thing and probably still is for many.

      As you said yourself, Africa has not been represented here neither has the Middle East region of Asia. In the case of the Middle East – we too have extremely high internet rates and less efficient connections than the rest of the non-third world. However, this (internet speed and rates) does not apply to all the Middle Eastern (and GCC) countries, just a few.

      I haven’t heard of the South African version of Twitter nor of Afrigator – how cool :). I’ll check out Afrigator to see what it’s like.

      Thanks again for pointing these things out. Very interesting :).
      Hope to see you around these parts more often.

      Cheers and Happy Holidays

      • http://twitter.com/UlrichZA Ulrich Holtzhausen

        Just to clarify. It is not technically a “South African Twitter” per se, but more that it was created by an average SA blogger for the world. In addition, Afrigator is a listing of all African blogs and their rankings based on traffic etc. Bloggers from Africa subscribe there to include their blog I suppose for more exposure (I have not used the service myself so it may have more community-like features).

        • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

          Yeah I figured that much about the South African Twitter :).

          We have something close here to the Afrigator called LebanonAggregator – it’s a listing of all (or those who have registered or have been found) Lebanese blogs or those having anything to do with Lebanon and so forth. But it doesn’t have any rankings included.

          There’s also another pretty cool one called “toot” – but this one you can’t really register for – you can submit your blog but you might not get listed. They actually list you if they like you (depending on their criteria) – and they only pick a few blogs from around the region 2 or so times a year.

          I’m sure there are several others – but those are the two that I’m listed on (in the ME region) that I’m aware of.

          I don’t rely much on the traffic that comes from them but it’s still awesome to be recognized :).

          Thanks for coming back and clarifying.

          • http://twitter.com/UlrichZA Ulrich Holtzhausen

            Interesting. I have yet to explore local sites. I do not even use local Google (I like seeing the global picture – and that is coincidentally how I want my site to be seen too) but it may be beneficial to check it out sometime.

  • http://www.larissaphotography.com/blog TJ McDowell

    I’ve set a goal to be generating 10K this next year from blogging. Based on these statistics, it doesn’t look to unrealistic for me to blog part time and make that kind of money. Do you guys make about that much with your blogs?

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hey TJ,

      That’s an awesome goal! Good luck with that. I hope you’ll even exceed that number :).

      As for me, I currently do not make any money from my blog. I don’t have any affiliate links or ads in here but I’m hoping to change that next year. I’m looking into adding a few affiliate links to products I use and like.

      I can’t speak for others but I do know many who either earn a ton more or much less. There are a lot of factors that come into play when earning from one’s blog.

      It’s just a matter of figuring out a way to use PayPal for me – as they currently do not have the country I live in on their list and therefore cannot open an account with them. It’s rather limiting and annoying for someone like me who spends a lot of time living in the online world – as you can imagine :(!

      I’m hoping to find a way around that soon and maybe start generating a small income from here. If not – I still love what I do here everyday so it won’t change a thing in regards to that.

      Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. Always nice to have you here TJ. Hope you achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself!

      Cheers

  • http://www.slymarketing.com Jens P. Berget

    I have the same problem with Technorati. It seems that they acknowledge my blog, since I’m ranked in the business category as number 746. But it doesn’t look as my blog posts are indexed, because I don’t get any traffic from them.

    When it comes to the infographic, I find it very interesting to see that the self employed bloggers have less ads on their blogs. To me, it looks like that people new to blogging are displaying a lot more ads on their blogs. It’s also interesting to see that the number of hobby bloggers, part-time bloggers and corporate bloggers are decreasing. I thought more and more people were blogging :)

    The reason why the numbers are decreasing might be because of Facebook (and other social media). The hobby bloggers and part-timers are spending more time on Facebook?

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hi Jens,
      Nice to have you back here.

      In my case – Technorati says my blog has been claimed but my posts cannot be indexed because they are not in English. I’m seriously starting to wonder what language I’m typing in now haha.

      You may want to try going through their forum to see who else has the same problem as you – you might get lucky and someone from the company may get back to you with an answer. Unfortunately – I never heard back from them (since June) and therefore gave up for the time being. Maybe I’ll try again next year – who knows?

      I’m not quite sure why the number of people blogging is decreasing (except for the self-employed) and whether it has anything to do with Facebook or not. But what I do know is that many if not most people give up blogging before their first year. Maybe they weren’t seeing the results they expected – from either their content or the ads they have and decided the time factor and dedication required wasn’t worth the effort.

      In my case, I spend a hell of a lot more time on Twitter than I do on Facebook. And although I do have a group for nittyGriddy on FB and I share my latest posts (as well as other good ones that I come across by other bloggers) – the interactions/engagements with others are rather limited compared to those that I have on Twitter. They’re existent of course, but the “real” conversations are taking place on Twitter – at least in my case.

      Also – it looks like it’s the part-timers and self-employed which seem to be mostly using Facebook to market their blog or business.

      The results portrayed here were indeed very interesting to say the least. But again – as I mentioned a few times in previous replies – although this infographic is great and the information is good to have – I don’t know how accurate it actually is. In general, I wouldn’t really question facts too much but because Technorati is one of 2 main sources – it may be that only those English blogs that are indexed with the directory have been taken into consideration.

      I hope that other commentators here can address your question as well and maybe have a more thorough answer for you.

      I appreciate you stopping by and sharing your analytical thoughts. Thank you very much Jens :).

      Wishing you a Merry Christmas.
      Cheers

  • http://www.ideasbubble.com Peter J

    I find it sad how the number of people blogging as a hobby has decreased since 2009. Only blogging for money is the wrong attitude to develop :(

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hi Peter and welcome :).

      I think that most bloggers – at some point – do hope to make a penny or two from their blogs. But You’re right – it shouldn’t be the only attitude to have.

      I make nothing from my blog – but hopefully I will someday. But my passion to write and continue updating this site has nothing to do with the fact that I may make money from it. That part would be awesome but it’s a plus – but again, I speak for myself.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts Peter. Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas.
      Cheers

  • http://twitter.com/ElisesReview Elise M

    WOW that is such a cool infographic! I love all the stats in there. SO informative!

    The stat about Facebook doesn’t surprise me. I’m trying to better my blog presence on Facebook for sure and it’s one of my big New Year’s resolutions. :)

    As far as where I fit in, I think I am a “part-timer” in “the rest of North America.” LOL.

    That’s so funny that Technorati doesn’t think your blog is in English. That’s NUTS haha!

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hey Elise,

      Great to see you here again. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your 2 cents ;).

      The Facebook stat doesn’t surprise me either but I do think that Twitter is also an integral part of a blogger’s life – at least it is for me :). I’m actually looking to have a landing page for my FB group designed – I want to spice things up a bit.

      I don’t know what Technorati thinks English looks and sounds like but apparently I’ve been using a secret language that they can’t decipher lol – Oh well. I’d like to say – their loss – but let’s be realistic haha.

      Good luck with that New Year’s resolution. Still working on mind – hopefully I’ll at least be able to follow through with one of them this year Ha!

      Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family Elise.
      Wishing you lots of success in 2011.

      Cheers

  • http://www.skypulsemedia.com/ Howie at Sky Pulse Media

    I love this post. While I blog and obviously read a lot of blogs, the Blogosphere is not one of my main focuses for business consulting that I provide. But I am a data hound. And I love shredding inaccurate data, poorly derived data, or just plain lies in order to hype something for monetary benefit! And you did this. You didn’t accept something on face value just because someone wrote it (A LA Mashable’s form of journalism). You went Punk. You questioned Authority. And for that you earn one Gold Snowflake!

    My thoughts on the data. More Self Employed are blogging. That to me is because of all the layoffs in many industries, and how else do you get to craft a nice image of your smarts if looking for work. And those of us like myself who left the big corp world on their own to start my own business use it for the same reason. So don’t I fall under Self Employed and Corporate?

    I also cringe because of the 18 to 44 age cut off. Why did they choose 44? I mean I will be 44 next year. Doesn’t the fact that I often act childish allow me to stay with the main group?

    I also have never promoted my blog on Facebook. Facebook is my recreational life. I might help Businesses use Facebook and even manage a page for a client, I have nothing to offer my friends via my blog and 97% of my connections are non-work related. The only work related people I have on facebook are people I have gotten to be friends with and now view them differently. (Plus if my old burningman pictures go mainstream could be trouble)

    I also don’t like income data. How many people are not making any money via their blogs yet use their blogs to support their business? I read a lot of blogs for Marketing/Advertising that the people as far as I know are not generating revenue from the blog, but it enhances their value to their employer.

    Sorry I feel like I just blogged about the blogging data. My apologies. Carry on now. =)

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Well Howie, this comment kicks some serious ass and then some YaY! Thank you, thank you – for sharing your awesome insight and opinion! And another thank you for my Gold Snowflake :). Love it!

      I accepted this infographic because aesthetically it’s great and the information is indeed interesting. But I questioned it’s credibility once I saw that Technorati was 1 of 2 main sources. Knowing that the directory only indexes English blogs (and those that file a claim) it made me think how many blogs and bloggers out there have not been represented? A LOT, I’m sure – including ME!

      By no means do I mean to bash these statistics – they’re an excellent resource to have. But maybe instead – adjust the title to not say “bloggers worldwide”. Again – I’m assuming that the stats are taken from registered blogs – in case they haven’t and I’m wrong and all blogs in the world have indeed been included – then a thousand apologies lol. But somehow – I don’t think that’s the case.

      I actually didn’t think that about your reason for why more self-employed are blogging. Thanks a lot for pointing that out! your analysis sounds very logical and accurate to me.

      Now don’t get me started on the age cut-off thing! I’m in my early 30’s but I will raise your childish actions 10 fold! Ha – acting 19 is quite a specialty of mine ;).

      As for Facebook – I do have a group for this blog where I share my latest posts. However, although the fan numbers are great so far (seeing the age of this blog) – the interactions (besides the “likes” and “drive-by’s” are not WOW. As for my personal account – it’s just that – personal! There’s no blogging stuff on there and the friends I have – I have seen or see in “real” life.

      I think FB is an excellent promotional tool and I will keep at it but I honestly find that Twitter has been my greatest asset thus far. It’s opened so many new doors for me and introduced me to some exceptional folks and bloggers. Actually, I can easily say that the majority of my readers and engagers have found me through Twitter. I’m expecting the Twitter percentage to grow by quite a bit next year. But then again – I speak from a non-pro point of view – just an educated guess.

      Thanks for bringing up such valuable input Howie. I really appreciate it and it’s great to read a comment such as this.

      No need to be sorry – quite the opposite! Feel free to blog about blogging data and more anytime here :). Your 2 – I mean 8 cents 😉 – are more than welcome and I’ll be happy to collect awesomely thoughtful pennies such as these.

      Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy the holiday season. May it be merry and fun lol.

      Cheers

  • http://www.techperk.com/ Praveen@Techperk

    it is good to see female bloggers number growing up.. hope 2011 would be much better

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      I actually expected the number of female bloggers to be greater but then again, like I mentioned – I don’t know how accurate these numbers are vis-a-vis bloggers worldwide.

      Although it’s a fantastic infographic, I’m not sure whether it encompasses all bloggers – even those that are not indexed in Technorati.

      I think I come across women bloggers just as much as I do men.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Praveen. I really appreciate your 2 cents.
      Looking forward to seeing you around these parts more ofte.

      Cheers and happy holidays

    • http://www.bizchickblogs.com Tia Peterson

      Same here, Praveen! I wish the same thing (and that they all subscribe to my blog LOL)!

      • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

        Haha
        I’m with Tia on this one ;)!

  • http://www.bizchickblogs.com Tia Peterson

    I’m curious about the stat that says 81% of bloggers have been blogging for 2 years. My gut says that stat is WAY off. Technorati’s state of the blogosphere is just a small window into blogs and blogging. Although that’s most statistics, anyway. But my gut says MOST bloggers blog for a few months and quit it. So I guess it all depends on what their definition of “blogger” is.

    Nice post! Glad you shared this.

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hey Tia,

      I think I agree with you. I often read that many bloggers give up within the first year.

      When I published my 1 year anniversary – a lot of the comments confirmed my belief and readings by congratulating me on getting through the first and hardest year of blogging.

      As for Technorati – my thoughts and questions were pretty clear regarding the accurateness of these numbers. I question whether this info (although great to know) is representative of all blogs and bloggers.

      Considering Technorati only indexes English blogs that would leave quite a considerable amount out. And how many bloggers have encountered the same problem I have – where Technorati is not acknowledging their posts as being written in English? I can guarantee you that I’ve read my posts over and over and can confirm that they are haha!

      But all in all, I think this is a great infographic – must have not been easy to accumulate all that info!

      I’m glad you stopped by and shared your thoughts Tia. I very much value your input and always look forward o seeing you around these parts.

      Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family.

      Cheers

  • http://www.moremoo.com Adam

    This is what I call The Infographic really huge one. And information there is really interesting. Especially it seems like this year lot of people decided to become full-time bloggers if you compare it with the year 2009.

    I am a bit surprised about the usage of the Twitter, I was thinking that bloggers prefer it in front of Facebook. I was obviously wrong and Facebook is still the bloggers’ king.

    Do you think it will stay like this in the future or Twitter will dominate the Blogosphere within couple of years?

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hey Adam,
      Welcome back Mr. Moremoo :).

      I too think this is a fantastic and interesting infograhic – although I have some doubts regarding its accuracy. I’ve mentioned them both in the post itself and in a few of my comments here so I won’t bore you by repeating them haha.

      I have a Facebook group for this blog but I admit that I find Twitter has opened a lot of doors for me and introduced me to some wonderful bloggers.

      In my case, I’m not sure if I have a preference but I do tend to use Twitter a LOT more. THe engagements are also much more fruitful as opposed to the popular “good post” and such on Facebook.

      Again this is my personal opinion and is based on the results I’ve achieved so far. A big part of my readers came from Twitter and I think the gigantic information network is indeed essential.

      I think they both will continue to evolve in their respective ways and will be essential in the growth of a blog. But I do think more and more people will realize the value that Twitter offers when used properly.

      This is a great question to throw out there Adam. I hope some of my commentators can give you their opinion in regards to that.

      Thanks again for stopping by here and sharing your thoughts. Always appreciated.

      Cheers and Happy Holidays and a Merry X-mas to you and your family.

  • http://twitter.com/lavenderuses Patricia Millman

    Hi Ingrid

    Too funny that they think you don’t blog in English. Did they say what language you do blog in?!

    You are back with a bang lol Not only am I seeing you back in full force on Twitter; you’ve even had time to publish these facts?! and figures.. 😉

    Nice one Ingrid. I just published too. Don’t know how many bloggers have already slowed down, but decided there would still be a few of us blog hopping and looking for good posts to read.

    Patricia Perth Australia

    • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

      Hey Patricia,

      I know, can you imagine? I knew there was a reason people werent’ understanding the Chinese gibberish that I write here haha.

      They didn’t mention what language just says that according to them my blog posts aren’t in English – Huh?! Ridiculous! What’s more is that I’ve tried getting to the root of the problem with them for 6 months now and no answer. Oh well, if Technorati doesn’t want me I’m sure other blog directories will be able to decipher my secret writing language ;).

      I’m definitely back but I’m sure the holiday season may get in the way a bit seeing the hectic days that have started. Lots of people in town but somehow blogging is still my priority :) so I’ll do what I can and make the time.

      I’m glad you liked this one. Pretty interesting and neat infographic if you disregard the little points I mentioned. I’ll head over to your blog soon to read your new post – I’m sure it rocks – just like the rest.

      As usual – thanks for coming by here and leaving your awesome 4 cents. Always appreciated :).

      Cheers

      • http://www.lifeasanexperiment.com James D. Burrell II

        The place in my heart where the 8 Mandarin words/phrases that I know reside is profoundly offended. Hehe, only joshing – that’s colloquial for joking (not sure if your plugin would translate it correctly) – with you. Many smiles with an occasional wink through the holidays.

        • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

          My sincere apologies to that place in your heart that holds dear the 8 words of Mandarin that you know lol (insert a wink here).

          I’ve got some kick-ass plugins installed here that are pretty good at translating colloquialisms hehe.

          I should have a little poll to see what this language this blog sounds the most like Ha!

          Sending those Holiday smiles and winks right back at ya James. Always nice to see you here.

          Wishing you and your family a beautiful Christmas.

          Cheers

          • http://www.lifeasanexperiment.com James D. Burrell II

            The same to you… I can already “feel” the weight gain setting in from my mother and grandmother’s cooking, and I haven’t even left for home yet.

            • http://nittygriddy.com/ Ingrid Abboud

              Damn it! I’m hungry already Jamey lol. Enjoy your family’s cooking. I’m sure it’s yummy and well worth the extra pounds.