Blogosphere Not Useful for 89% of Workforce

We reported recently about the slowed growth of the blogging industry. A new report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project may shed some additional light on the subject.

The study reported that networked workers, those who use the Internet or email at work — which is 62% of American adults — said such technologies are a “mixed blessing for them.” Reading blogs at work was reported by only 11% of those surveyed. A mere 2% of the employed Internet users said they blog at work.

The Networked Blogger

The study offered a detailed look at the networked blogger, as well. Men and women are equally as likely to blog, but young adults far outpace older workers in their engagement with blogging. Employed Internet users ages 18-29 are more than twice as likely to blog when compared to 30-49 year olds (20% vs. 9%). However, young adults are no more likely to report at-work tending to their blog; a similar 2% said they blog from work.

Blog reading is also most prevalent among younger generations of employed Internet
users. One in three Internet-using employees (33%) said they have read someone else’s
blog or online journal, and 11% report at least some at-work reading. At-work blog reading is equally prevalent among all age groups.

If we refer to some of the stats offered by this report, we can infer a few things.

• 62% of employed adults use the Internet or email at work, of that 27% said they use the internet constantly
• 46% of all wired and ready workers say they feel the demands of technologies have intensified their work
• Only 14% of online Americans said they constantly use the Internet at home

The increased use of the Internet and related technologies at work are keeping the average employed adult at work busy — so much that their time offline at home has increased. In addition, they seem to be disciplined about limiting their Internet use at work to actual work and the occasional online shopping.

The Benefits of Blogging at Work

Blogging is often viewed as personal; with many companies surveying the Internet use or using firewalls to limit the access of their workers. Users may be wary of engaging in behaviors that could be viewed unfavorably. Yet, reading blogs can actually benefit, aid or otherwise lend support to one's professional endeavors.

The folks at ReadWriteWeb even offered up a few advantages of reading blogs on the job, including being able to stay up-to-date on breaking news, knowing what others are talking about and, not to mention, offering a helpful guide to resources. We'd like to emphasize those sentiments as well. In the CMS world, sometimes the best advice and support comes from those who work within those domains and can offer their direct feedback and synthesis readily.

So if you're reading this article at work, you are proving your merit as a valuable employee. You should even let your boss know how productive and proactive this article has made you.

Blogosphere Not Useful for 89% of Workforce

We reported recently about the slowed growth of the blogging industry. A new report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project may shed some additional light on the subject. \n\nThe study reported that networked workers, those who use the Internet or email at work -- which is 62% of American adults -- said such technologies are a \"mixed blessing for them.\" Reading blogs at work was reported by only 11% of those surveyed. A mere 2% of the employed Internet users said they blog at work.

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