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MSN, Windows Live Release 'Blogging India: A Windows Live Report'
IT News Online Staff
2006-11-27

According to the findings of Blogging India: A Windows Live Report, India's blogosphere is driven by youth and a passion for self improvement and entertainment with 42% of online users reading blogs to stay informed about world events, 49% citing entertainment as the main reason they read blogs, and blogs written by business leaders ranking as the most interesting.

The Blogging India: A Windows Live Report, which is based on an online survey of more than 1,000 MSN portal visitors in India, was developed by Windows Live Spaces, as part of a pan-Asian research initiative. The research highlighted that while growing in popularity in India the blogging community is still nascent with only 14% of the country's netizens actively blogging while 39% was aware of blogs.

India's blogosphere is heavily dominated by men; three quarters (76%) of its bloggers are male while women only account for 24%. This goes against the trend in the region where blogging was fairly evenly matched between the sexes although in some markets such as Singapore was slightly more female dominated. India's blogosphere is also fueled by young adults with 54% of bloggers between the ages of 25 - 34, 32% under 25, and 15% over 35.

The survey found that self improvement and personal development were key drivers of India's blogosphere with a large majority of online users reading blogs to stay informed about world event. When asked which subjects they enjoyed reading the most, the majority of respondents cited technology at 32% followed closely by news and education at 24% illustrating the impact of India's booming technology sector on society. This is in contrast with the region where technology was ranked by only 19% as the most interesting and travel the second most popular at 17%.

Blogs written by business leaders were found by half of all online users in India to be the most enjoyable to read. Blogs by politicians were found by 24% of respondents to be of regular interest. This is in contrast to the region where the blogs by business leaders and politicians were far less popular at only 26% and blogs by politicians accounting for only a 13% share.

MSN said these findings also suggested that blogging could be on its way to becoming the "new fourth estate" with close to half, 45%, of respondents believe that blog content is as trustworthy as traditional media such as newspapers, radio and TV. The company said the implications of its findings are not only significant for traditional media owners, but also for community leaders reaching out to communicate directly with online users.

The Blogging India: A Windows Live Report also revealed that the majority of India's online users find reading blogs to be an excellent source of entertainment with those written by actors, popular music artists, and sports personalities rating as the most popular at a combined 77%.

"India's nascent blogosphere is characterized by what all of India is striving to achieve today, to grow and learn whilst taking time from our busy lives to be entertained by role models in our communities," said Jaspreet Bindra, Country Manager, MSN and Windows Live, India. "The Internet is growing at a tremendous rate, driven by user created content and community based online services. These are both highly representative of the blogging phenomenon in India today."

According to the report, having a platform for self-expression factored heavily into the motivation to blog in India with 58% of bloggers starting a blog because they wanted to express passionate views, while 40% of India’s bloggers did so to entertain others through their writing. A majority, 47%, of blog owners indicated that writing about their views and commenting on the world around them was what they enjoyed the most about the activity.

Bloggers who are looking to improve their sites should take note as aesthetics play a huge role in attracting and retaining an audience in the blogosphere. Respondents indicated that a good blog should, firstly, be updated regularly and secondly be well written with eye-catching pictures. Among the most annoying aspects of blogging, India's netizens pointed to badly written entries, 42%, self-centered blogs, 36%, and not knowing when a blog is updated, 34%, as things that turned them away from blog sites.

"One of the unique benefits of Spaces is that it is integrated with Windows Live Messenger and when you update your Space your online contacts are informed via what's called a 'glean'. This is a great feature and really addresses one of the biggest pet peeves for avid blog readers in Asia - knowing when they are updated," said Bindra.

The report found that the need to share their lives with family and friends was a strong motivator for India's netizens with 43% of respondents indicating that they were interested in reading blogs written by those closest to them. Half of bloggers surveyed started a blog to either share a diary and photos with loved ones or because a family or friend had one.

The findings were closely in line with those for the region as a whole with 53% of bloggers indicating that they chose to start a blog to share a diary or photo album with loved ones. Close to three-quarters, 74%, of the Asia's netizens find that blogs written by friends and family are the most interesting.

"With the introduction of easy to use and integrated services such as MSN and now Windows Live Spaces over the last several years, blogging is becoming a popular way for India's online users to stay in touch with family and friends," said Bindra. "In a few short decades we have moved on from sending letters, to using email and now we are moving to this new form of self expression and communication. Instead of sending out mass emails or holiday letters, people are starting to use their blogs to express themselves and reach out to the people they love."

"Windows Live Spaces puts people in control by being easy to use and offering customization features that allow people to design their Space in a way that reflects their personalities. Something that is important to people across India, and which came through clearly in the study," said Bindra.

The study found that in India, almost 90% of bloggers spend up to 5 hours per week reading blogs or updating their own blogs revealing the impact the social network activity is having on Internet usage patterns and divulging the extent to which consumption of traditional media is changing.

"As we are seeing with the internet in general in India, more people are spending time online at the expense of traditional media. As user created content and community services such as blogging really begin to take off they will drive more time online. Advertisers will have to consider making the Internet a part of their integrated marketing mix as this is where they will find an increasing number of customers," said Bindra.

"Blogging is a perfect example of the long tail. The findings showed that 50% of blogs receive less than 10 visitors each week. In this world online services, such as Windows Live Spaces, are able to combine powerful targeting technologies and rich advertising formats to reach a large audience in a way that enhances their online experience and delivers a high return on investment," added Bindra.