Critical Mass PR

Technorati reminds us this week that we need look no further than the blogosphere for an example of critical mass. Its State of the Blogosphere 2008 report has been issued in daily increments themed around specific topics. Today’s fifth and final topic is “Brands Enter the Blogosphere.” The portioned data dump has been enlightening. Consider some of the key stats.

Technorati cites measurements from a few different sources. While data from each varies greatly, the fact that blogging is “a global phenomenon that has hit the mainstream” is made quite clear. Among the numbers, Universal McCann data from March of this year suggests that 184 million people worldwide have started blogs, and 346 million are reading them.

Technorati says that for this year’s report it went beyond typical index results by surveying a random sample of more than 1.2 million bloggers. Responses were received from 66 countries across six continents.

It seems we’re quite a diverse bunch – and I have to smirk while writing this because I’ve been a blogger for all of six days. With this, my second post, I’m far removed from claiming early adopter status, yet my feeling of empowerment upon reading the blogosphere report this week and rattling off this initial thought is one I assume even the most seasoned bloggers have.

I can be an ant marching, wandering in a maze of too much information or, like millions, I can learn from and enjoy the experience, quite possibly gravitating to the right niche and finding my voice along the way. I’ll take the latter. See you out there in the stratosphere.

Technorati’s full report, of course, can be found at http://www.technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/.