I’ve been reading some of the fascinating research coming from Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere, and a couple of things have jumped out at me immediately:
- Two-thirds are male
- 60% are 18-44
- The majority are more affluent and educated than the general population
- 75% have college degrees
- 40% have graduate degrees
- One in three has an annual household income of $75K+
- One in four has an annual household income of $100K+
- Professional and self-employed bloggers are more affluent: nearly half have an annual household income of $75,000 and one third topped the $100,000 level
- More than half are married
- More than half are parents
- Half are employed full time, however ¾ of professional bloggers are employed full time.
It makes sense that more educated people would like to write online, but this seems to imply that the blogosphere is made up of very bright individuals, who are also married and are fully employed. This goes against the stereotype that blogers are lonely students with too much time on their hands.
This points to the very real concern that as blogs gain more cultural traction, the same groups of people who have always led the conversations are once again leading conversations. The critical mass of affluent, educated men makes me anxious.
Don’t you call me a stereotype!