Monday 27 February, 2006

Business Blogworld

It is estimated that there are now more than 28 million blogs in the world, giving workers a large range of choice if they feel like surfing on the job. The US publication Advertising Age has 'found that 25% of American workers read blogs during work time, and calculated that 9% of their work week or 551000 work years across the American economy in 2005 was spent on this pastime,' says Mark Bahnisch of the Australian group blog, Larvatus Prodeo. Bahnisch goes on to calculate that Larvatus Prodeo's own hits double on Monday mornings compared to their weekend figures. These numbers, combined with the fact that the sales of blog ads reached an estimated $100 million worth of sales by the end of last year means that there has been a sudden flurry of stories about blogging as a business. A long feature in New York Magazine looks at what it calls the 'A' list sites like The Huffington Post, which employs journalists, has extensive advertising, gets more than 18 million page views a month and is one of the most linked to sites in the world. The 'B' and 'C' list bloggers are often boutique blog sites which rate highly when it comes to the cool factor, but don't actually make much cash. In response to this article American feminist blogger Echinde of the Snakes states, 'I dislike the idea of "blogging business" . . . looking for advertising income as the road to millionairehood is going to cramp your style and affect what you write.' In Australia many larger blogs, including Larvatus prodeo, Tim Blair and Webdiary, ask for donations and include some advertising, but none, as yet, make the kind of incomes the larger American sites are generating.

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