Bloggers gear up for UK general election

As the UK general election battle begins to heat up, US research published today suggests that bloggers could have a pivotal role in the forthcoming result.

The study by Harris Interactive warned that UK political parties ignore at their peril the relatively new phenomenon of political blogs, which burst onto the scene during the 2004 US presidential election.

According to the online survey of 2,630 American surfers in March, over two-fifths (44 per cent) of respondents have read a political blog. More than a quarter (27 per cent) indicated that they read them once a month or more.

Despite the relatively high proportion of respondents reading political blogs, just seven per cent of adults who are online have ever posted a comment on a blog site. Even among those who read political blogs, only 15 per cent have posted a comment.

The poll found that online adults with a university or postgraduate degree (52 per cent) are significantly more likely to have read a political blog.

According to the research group there is a gender gap in reading political blogs, with men more likely than women to read them (48 per cent of males compared to 40 per cent of females).

While political liberals (52 per cent) are more likely to read political blogs than their conservative (48 per cent) or moderate (46 per cent) counterparts, there is almost no difference in the percentage of Republicans, Democrats, or Independents who log on to these online journals.

Among online adults who have read a political blog, more than half (53 per cent) say they spend less than 15 minutes in a typical reading session.

The Harris Poll was conducted among a nationwide cross section of 2,630 adults aged 18 and over, of whom 1,193 have read political blogs and 224 have posted on a blog.

See also:

Digital world forces copyright rethink

Traditional legislation failing to cope  26 Apr 2005

Challenges ahead as commercial blogs take off

Commercial blogging firms must tread very carefully  25 Apr 2005

Bloggers must fight for online freedom

Attempts to muzzle bloggers 'not limited to governments'  25 Apr 2005

Unchecked blogs a boon to hackers

Free and anonymous hacking tools storage  15 Apr 2005

Hackers harness popularity of blogging

Blogs used to harbour malicious code  14 Apr 2005

Election kicks off with cyber-squatting spat

Dirty tricks in Winchester  12 Apr 2005

Your blog could cost you your job

Bloggers and podcasters beware ...  24 Feb 2005

Harness the power of blogs

The boom in blogging could bring big advantages to businesses that have the right policies in place  13 Jan 2005

Digital diaries: The art of blogging

If you want to offer advice or share your thoughts with the masses, set yourself up with a blog. We show you how to get involved in this growing phenomenon  30 Sep 2004

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!