Blogging Statistics, Facts and Figures in 2012 – Infographic

Blogging started as an online journal in the 1990′s where people shared their interests, hobbies and thoughts online.

Online self expression was the main aim of the blogging game.

In 2012 it has evolved into major publishing businesses such as Huffington Post that was sold recently for over $300 million.

It is also used by companies to display their thought leadership and expertise. Blogs are now considered an important part of a companies participation online and no longer the preserve of  the private personal blogger.

The evolution of search engines has also made the creation of unique content in a variety of media vital, to improve brands and businesses online visibility to Google, Bing and Yahoo.

The world of personal self expression is now only a part of what keeps blogging vibrant and an important part of the rapidly growing web.

 Is Social Media a Threat to Blogging?

Before the rise of social media the main marketing tactic for a blogger to market their blog was building an email list and using that to distribute their content. It was hard work and many bloggers developed clever email list building tactics that facilitated the sharing of their blog. Bloggers built their online brand one email subscriber at a time.

Social media initially was  seen as a threat to blogging. When I joined Facebook in 2008 it had less than 100 million users and people were rapidly joining the  social network. Expressing yourself online was now easier and more social. Some people were even predicting the demise of blogging. Would Facebook kill the blog?

Micro blogging also started to appear in the guise of a strange sounding social media platform called “Twitter”. The questions were being asked would blogging descend into shallow snippets of information in 140 characters or less.  Would micro content create a superficial social web?

As Twitter rapidly grew it proved to be a very efficient means to distribute content, engage and grow a network of friends and followers that were interested in your topic globally. Social media has in fact saved blogging from stagnation and extinction as it has accelerated the online sharing and discovery of bloggers on tens of thousands of topics.

Social media has though proved to be a marketing mecca for bloggers that made them more visible than they could ever have hoped to be.

Bloggers Have Many Choices

Social media has provided  many options for bloggers. You can now blog with Tumblr. You can now be a video blogger on Blogger.com.  If you like a Facebook “page” can be the the public platform of choice for expressing yourself. If you want to  keep it short and sweet then Twitter is the micro bloggers paradise. We all don’t have to write 1,000 words epiphanies.

There is something to be said for keeping it simple and succinct.

So what are some of the latest statistics, facts and figures on the state of blogging in 2012?

Infographic source: Blogging.org

What About You?

Why do you blog? Do you blog for money and fame or is it your channel for self expression?

Do you blog about your passions or is it just business for you?

Look forward to hearing your stories and your blogging journey. Express yourself online in the comments below.

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