Blogosphere rocks!

Singapore (Nov 30) TODAY - Netizens place great trust in blogs: Online survey

Derrick A Paulo
derrick@mediacorp.com.sg

Half of Internet users in Singapore rate blogs to be as trustworthy as traditional media such as print, radio and television, according to a survey. Microsoft Asia-Pacific reported Tuesday that Internet users in several Asian countries found blogs to be a "relatively trusted source of information".

The caveat — it was an online survey, among Internet users about blogs.

But the trust level in more established blogospheres such as Singapore and Korea is slightly higher.

In Singapore, 51 per cent of about 1,000 respondents believe in blog content as much as they do in traditional media, and 28 per cent found blogs the quickest way to learn what is happening in the world.

Across Asia, around half of the respondents trust blogs as much as they did the traditional media, too. Microsoft's Southeast Asia sales director Richard Huggins described the finding as "very encouraging" and a symptom of a more mature blogosphere.

"When people began blogging, there was a nervousness about whether it was an appropriate environment to share one's thoughts. Is it trustworthy? All markets go through early stages, early adoption, teething problems," he told Today.

With the global blogosphere doubling in size every 230 days, and a blog created every second, Microsoft said in its Blogging Asia: An MSN and Windows Live Report that "creating and reading blogs is fast becoming a mainstream activity". The survey on its MSN portal was completed by 25,000 online visitors from Singapore, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. Of these, 46 per cent said they are active bloggers while 68 per cent of respondents here claimed to have their own blog, which puts Singapore behind only South Korea.

Mr Huggins identified music, followed by travel, as Singapore's preferred blog content. Interestingly, about 18 per cent of the Singaporeans were interested in politicians' blogs — compared to the survey average of 13 per cent, and with only India and Malaysia showing a higher interest level.

MP Michael Palmer, who blogs on a site for a group of younger MPs, thinks the interest is "a good sign".

"Among the younger generation, there is an increased awareness and interest in politics. There is an eagerness to participate," said Mr Palmer, who believes that politicians in general will have to increasingly use blogs, and the Internet, to communicate with people.

Generally though, Singaporeans and other Asians are most interested in the blogs of family and friends.

Mr Huggins found the most surprising survey result to be that most bloggers are women. In Singapore, it is a good 74 per cent while it is 55 per cent in Asia. The survey further suggested that good writing is the number one criteria for a good Singapore blog, and bad writing the biggest turn off.

It may explain why 33 per cent of Singaporean bloggers feel that the blogosphere is a good outlet for writers to find an audience. But, alas, 62 per cent of all blogs in Asia receive 20 or fewer visitors a week.

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