Nothing really grabs the blogosphere as much as itself. It sounds like a Friday night crisis, but it's less lonely than that. Can we call it collective individualism? Should we employ Shakespeare, Nietzsche, or Jung when considering that 37% of bloggers say they are their own favorite subject? Does it change things if over half of them are anonymous?

The authors of a new report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project called "Bloggers" (PDF), reveal that, like the world outside, the blogosphere is diverse, and young, and the subject matter is as splintered as a Barry Bonds Louisville Slugger.

But no other subject, not politics, sports, business, or technology, was more important to the bloggers polled than "my life and experiences." No, other topics were not even close. About 76% claim their personal experiences as A reason, if not THE reason to blog.

Here's the breakdown:

37%: my life and experiences

11%: politics

7%: entertainment

6%: sports

5%: news

4%: technology

2%: religion and spirituality

"Some observers have suggested that blogging is nothing more than the next step in a burgeoning culture of narcissism and exhibitionism spurred by reality TV and other elements of the modern media environment," write Senior Research Specialist Amanda Lenhart and Associate Director Susannah Fox.

Yes, it is called MySpace isn't it? Me.com, anyone?

Narcissism nor Des Cartes is necessary for Wei Siang to justify existence in the blogosphere. Like Santa, Siang just needs you to believe…and pay a visit to confirm all is real. Some have other agendas for making their mark, like creating the longest comment thread in history.

Christopher Keeton, a Christian ministry blogger more than likely dismayed at how few are spending their one to two hours per week exploring the metaphysical, agrees that we mortals hold ourselves in high esteem.

"Of all the things that bring me enjoyment, of all the stuff that occupies my time… there's one subject that means more to me than anything else," says Keeton. "That subject is me. If we were really honest with ourselves, I would venture to say that all of us are very dear to our own hearts."

Though bloggers can be as histrionic as they are narcissistic, it's not the rule that bloggers want to be famous. Public as they may be, the majority of the 12 million American adults who maintain a blog intend their self-reflective musings for a "relatively small audience of readers." Fifty-five percent use a pseudonym, playing out whatever fantasy suits them.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely Players;
They have their Exits and their Entrances,
And one man in his time playes many parts…
-- Shakespeare, As You Like It

Only 8% said they do it for money. Fewer would probably be willing to romanticize it to the point that they "do it for love," but maybe our study authors shed light on the idea that it's not necessarily rampant malignant narcissism nor necessarily collective mass hysteria.

"But others contend that blogging promises a democratization of voices that can now bypass the institutional gatekeepers of mainstream media. This democratization is thought to have implications for the practice and business of journalism as well as the future of civic and political discourse."

So could the slings and arrows that Nietzsche bewailed of the pre-Web society be avoided though this new collective individualism?

"Madness is rare in individuals - but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule."

The optimist will believe we've struck a balance between the mob and the self. The cynic will no doubt recall the blog swarm and laugh. And the marketers and public relations professionals will understand and lament them both, as their audience expands in context, in complexity, but also in reactivity.

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"I never met a Kentuckian who wasn't coming home."--Governor Happy Chandler

I started my blog as a way to help get my online t-shirt store some much needed advertising.

But then, it's also hard to get people to visit your blog unless you can come up with something really hot to draw them.

I'm the progenitor of the Church of the Golden Thread a religion based on theoretical physics, and reacting against the money-grubbing ways of TV preachers and formal religion in general. I blog about it on my Xanga at
BilliBoi's Xanga Site. I invite everyone to have a refreshing look at a religion that doesn't promise you much of anything, without your participation! O.O
Regards
Bill

Jerryb...in my opinion, I think you should look at your blog as a more of a PR tool than an advertising channel -- a way to connect and build a relationship with your customer...the blog search world is continuing lashing out at blogs created for advertising purposes and people look to zap them immediately. What you don't want is to form negative associations with your brand. My advice is to incorporate your blog into your website, linking to it along with your About and Contact information, or wherever, so it seems relevant. You can talk about your product, give it a news feed so people can subscribe for updates, go through some of the blog promotional channels...submit to Technorati, drop a link every so often to relevant and influential writers...Look to AdSense for advertising or, broker a deal with a blogger directly to put ads on his/her blog.

Bill...I'm not sure what your post has to do with this thread...I am curious about it, but I'm not sure all will appreciate it or find it relevant. I'll leave it up unless the populace votes for its deletion

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"I never met a Kentuckian who wasn't coming home."--Governor Happy Chandler

My latest atempt at a blog "Dene's Place" is a blog where I give my opinions on just about anything. So I wouldn't say it's strictly about selling t-shirts, but that was the original idea.

My last entry was comparing that new show "The One" to "American Idol". It could start a debate for those who like the show, but I doubt if many will see my blog to even comment on it. I have two other blogs that have been up forever and I'm lucky if someone stumbles across them now and then.

I would never have known about your blog if it hadn't been for my weekly newsletter from WebPro.

cool...i don't think anybody would object to a content blog with advertising, as long as it's not sploggy.

There are lots of ways to promote a blog, they're similar to SEO techniques...inbound links are important, following others in the area of interest and linking to their content, exploiting RSS, pingorati, and other blog promotion tools...you have to be aggressive in marketing and pump out compelling content regularly...

As for my blog...I'm not sure which you are referring to...some like to call WebProNews a blog, which it is not, though it is a bit of a hybrid of news, commentary, blog, and trade journal.

If you're referring to my personal blog...I don't really promote it...I tend to address some controversial subject matter and it's mostly for me to vent and practice writing and for self satisfaction that my feelings are out there somewhere...I update my friends, who are scattered out all over the world, about things I've written and what's going on in my life. But it's more for purist reasons that I keep it. There is advertising on it, but that just seemed like a "why not?" thing. I don't really care if it becomes well known or makes me money (I think in the year since I set it up, I've made something like $1.50 from AdSense). I don't tweak the code, or mess with it. It is what it is, something for someone to stumble across from time to time and hopefully it makes them think.

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"I never met a Kentuckian who wasn't coming home."--Governor Happy Chandler

It's true that most of what I blog about involves my life and experiences. Narcissism, however, is pretty far from being my motivator. My self-esteem isn't that good that I think people will really be interested in hearing about my life.

So why do I do it? I do it because it's easier than talking to myself and trying to remember everything I say. Like a real journal, if I write something down it makes it easier for me to process it and work out what to do about it, if anything. I have short-term memory problems and couldn't cope without writing down most things in some way or another. Why not online?

I agree with Trialia here, a blog being a personal journal does not instantly mean it's bursting with self-indulgent ego-maniacal drivel.

There are so many other outlets of politics, entertainment, sports, news and tech that blogs do a good job of allowing people their personal outlets - besides, when you speak with friends you ask how they're doing, what they've done, been up to etc. if the conversation was purely subjects other than people, how dull the discourse would be.

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go green | opel manta | national minimum wage