So just recently the British mainstream media have been touted a survey where they have discovered less of the British public know about blogging than dogging. In Blogging vs Dogging (yeah the title says it all really) the facts of the survey are teased out and require a subscription…
More than 1,000 people were surveyed, which included taxi drivers, hairdressers and pub workers for the advertising agency DDB.
Seven out of 10 people don't know what a blog is. While 40 percent say they understood the expression dogging. 10 percent said they knew about podcasting. 56 percent said they were aware of happy slapping. Less than 10 percent of people surveyed were aware of Flashmobbing.
My thoughts on the survey…
First up, its a survey of over a 1000 people. I'm not a big fan of these survey's and wonder about where they get the people from, I mean how many people do you know who were involved in these surveys? So I take these things with a huge chunk of salt. That a-side, blogging the word and movement is still in its early years. Paul explained it best the other day, “10 years ago, people never heard of the internet, now look where we are today.” And you know what Paul is so right, who gives a crap what people say right now. Its going to be huge and there is nothing which the mainstream media can do about it. Surveys, jokes, off the cuff remarks are all part of a dying beast turning in its grave.
A couple of related Cluetrain's
#20 – Companies need to realize their markets are often laughing. At them. In the same way, I'm now laughing at this survey.
#57 – Smart companies will get out of the way and help the inevitable to happen sooner. Luckly working for the BBC, I'm seeing this happen more and more.
#72 – We like this new marketplace much better. In fact, we are creating it. Self explaining I would say.
Blogs may just be "inarticulate ramblings of wannabe journos" to some, but to a growing audience of socialable internet read/writers its a revolution. In actual fact, we like this new marketplace much better. In fact, we are creating it.
