Blogging as a current phenomenon and its benefits to the community.

Just how big is the blogosphere? Well, to start with, just the mere mention of the word “blogosphere” brings to mind a mental image of a massive, borderless entity – similar to how one would imagine the atmosphere, or more simply, our planet as one big (almost) spherical mass.

The exact population of the blogosphere is hard to pinpoint for certain though, as Caslon Analytics state that there are very “few credible estimates about the number of online blogs”, due to the inconvenient fact that “many figures are contradictory or self-serving” (Arnold, 2009). However, a few legitimate and well-researched sources place the blog-count as of 2010 at 152 million (Pingdom.com, 2011), an increase from the previous 144 million as stated by BlogPulse (Morris, 2010).

Having said that, it is safe to assume that this number will definitely see an increase in the near future, as it is believed that more and more people will start to embrace blogs and the blogging culture as a whole over traditional media (Technorati, 2010).

Not one to be left out, Malaysia is among a few other Asian countries that are taking the lead in the adoption of social media, with a growing myriad of blogs abuzz with activity (Ooi, 2007, p.1).

Among the types of blogs most prevalent within the Malaysian ‘blogscape’ are those about “food, the social scene, family life, books and hobbies” as well as “political blogs” (Ooi, 2007, pg.2).

Having such a varied repertoire of topics does indeed benefit blog readers and ultimately society. For instance, political blogs provide alternative views on a current issue at hand and may even lead readers to question the objectivity of mainstream media (Attan, 2008).

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To download Yang-May Ooi’s articles on Malaysia's social media scene and its often uneasy relationship with mainstream media and the government, click here.

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References:

Arnold, B. 2009, ‘Blogging: Statistics and demographics’, viewed 22 April 2011, <http://www.caslon.com.au/weblogprofile1.htm>.

Attan, A. 2008, ‘Trends and future of the Malaysian mass media’, presented at The National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs), Dewan Tunku Canselor, University of Malaya on 30^th October 2008, viewed 22 April 2011, <http://www.ssig.gov.my/ssig/kcent/material/Ahirudin%20Attan.pdf>.

Morris, A. 2010, ‘2010 Social blogging trends: There’s only enough room in the blogosphere for the 144 million of us’, Ignite Social Media Blog, posted 5^th August 2010, viewed 23 April 2011, <http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/social-media-trends/2010-blogging-trends-blog-growth-statistics/>.

Ooi, Y.M. 2007, ‘Blogging thrives in Malaysia’, Communication World, November – December issue, viewed 22 April 2011, (downloadable from) <http://www.zenguide.co.uk/2007/11/blogging-thrives-in-malaysia/>.

Pingdom.com, 2011, ‘Internet 2010 in numbers’, viewed 20 April 2011, <http://royal.pingdom.com/2011/01/12/internet-2010-in-numbers/>.

Sobel, J. 2010, ‘State of the Blogosphere 2010’, Technorati.com, viewed 20 April 2011, <http://technorati.com/blogging/article/who-bloggers-brands-and-consumers-day/page-2/>.