Survey: Blog Readership Skyrocketing

The surging popularity of blogs has led comScore Networks to suggest that blogs can now be thought of as part of the mainstream media, if not rivals.

In six years, blogs have gone from navel-gazing online diaries to must-read Internet publications that rival the reach and influence of traditional media properties.

A new study from online research firm comScore Networks Inc. reveals that 50 million U.S. Internet users visited blog sites in the first quarter of this year, up 45% from the first quarter of 2004. That represents about 30% of all U.S. Internet users, or a sixth of the total U.S. population.

The study is based on data from comScore’s opt-in research panel. The panel tracks the online activity of 1.5 million U.S. Internet users and reflects the behavior of consumers who visited the 400 top Weblog properties and blog-hosting services during the first three months of 2005.

Given their popularity, the study suggests that blogs can now be thought of as part of the mainstream media.

By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek

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