2008 State of the Blogosphere from Technorati

Any blogger would agree that Technorati is the leading blog search engine and an authority in everything and anything to do with the blogosphere. Long before Google blog search, there was Technorati- exclusive search engine for blogs. Further, almost all bloggers avail of its services by claiming their blogs for monitoring, placing buttons and widgets and these bloggers (including us!) do take notice on what Technorati has to say.

Time Magazine has this to say about Technorati: “If Google is the Web’s reference library, Technorati is becoming its coffee house.”

While its launching is unknown, it has been publishing the condition of the blogosphere annually since 2004. They have recently released their State of the Blogsophere report for 2008. Based on its analysis, research and survey of over a thousand bloggers, it gives a 5 part presentation of the current state of the blogsphere.

The results are starking. It shows consistent growth boom from tracking 4 million blogs in 2004 to almost 80 million blogs in 2008. It also shows trends and shifts of who are blogging, why and how. It further establishes how blogs have indeed arrived. It’s no longer exclusive to regular people putting out personal diaries online; major recognized brands around the world have put out company and corporate blogs. Journalists, movie actors and singers have one. TV stars maintain blogs. Major newspapers and internet media outlets now have their reporters blogging. Even the US Presidential candidates own blogs.

There is now a crossover of blogs and mainstream media with blogs becoming more and more a major source of information for anything under the sun- politics, entertainment, fun, technology, travels, you name it. The distinction between the two are hazy and even unrecognizable, thanks to the professional looking blogs out there making a name and credibility for themselves. Type in a search for anything you want information and Google and other search engines would most likely give you search results after search results of links and websites directing you to a blog.

The future of blogging is very bright. Despite economic downturn the world is experiencing, more and more people go to the internet to look for information. If anything, the print media is in jeopardy and at risk in all of this happening. While newpapers and magazines maybe obsolete in say 10-20 years, the internet will continue to boom and blogging will be at the forefront.

To read the comprehensive analysis of the current state of the blogosphere, head over to Technorati for their full report.