Blogging 4 Jesus » -Blogging Community

-Blogging Demographics

Dr.D — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 07:33:24 +0000

From Sysomos Inc.: “Inside Blog Demographics”

They analyzed more than 100 million blog posts to come up with demographical info on bloggers- their age, gender, and location.

-AGE:

The largest group of active bloggers are young folks who grew up during the blogging "revolution", which started about seven years ago. Over half of the Bloggers (53.3%) are 21-to-35 years old. Followed by over 20% in the under 21 age group. Those who are ‘senior citizens’ like myself only account for 7.1%:

≤ 20 years (20.2%)

21-35 yrs (53.3)

36-50 yrs (19.4)

≥51 yrs (7.1)

-GENDER:

The gender of active bloggers is pretty close to even:

Male@ 49.1%

Female@ 50.9%

-LOCATION:

The USA by far has the largest group of bloggers distantly followed by the UK:

U.S. (29.2%)
U.K. (6.75%)
Japan (4.9%)
Brazil (4.2%)
Canada (3.9%)
Germany (3.3%)
Italy (3.2%)
Spain (3.1%)
France (2.9%)
Russia (2.3%)
Australia (2.22%)
India (2.14%)
Sweden (2.05%)
Malaysia (1.7%)
Netherlands (1.69%)

Within the USA, California (14.1%) is home to the largest group followed by New York (7.16%).

Response: Demographics like this are always helpful in seeing the potential for reaching folks for business or for the Gospel. It helps to define the possible audience that might be part of a blog readership and blogging community.

I for one was really shocked to see that so few in the ‘senior’ category were actually participating. The demographics really tell us we need to take into account that we may be writing for a much younger audience and references that may mean something to someone like myself who is over sixty may have little or no meaning.

For example if I make a passing reference to a character in a 50’s TV show like Leave it to Beaver many of those younger folks reading my blog may have no idea what I am talking about- a total disconnect.

Similarly if one is blogging about California and the USA but the audience for ones blog is substantially international than further explanations might be in order for all of your readers to fully understand what you are blogging about.

-Top Church Blogs Rated

Dr.D — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 03:49:48 +0000

Here are some of the best church and ministry blogs for fall 2010 according to Kent Shaffer of ChurchRelevance.com –Take a look

Actually 140 blogs are rated this time.

It is always helpful to check out successful blogs. It can give you ideas for your own site and a new perspective of what is going on and really working out there.

Plus it is fun to rate your own blog using the same criteria used in this evaluation and see how you might match up with some of the more famous Christian blogs. I have one blog that matches up pretty well with the bottom 50 or so (not this one).

There is also always room for criticism when it comes to lists like this. The whole endeavor is rather subjective after all and there are some favorites from the past still on the list even though they are rarely updated anymore –for ‘old-tyme sake’ I guess.

Nevertheless a very helpful list. *Top

-Shaffer’s Top 100 Church Blogs + a Few More

Dr.D — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:13:49 +0000

Here’s Kent Shaffer’s latest ranking of the: “Top 100 Church Blogs”

Take a look and get some ideas on how you may improve your own blog. I already subscribe to about half of these and find many of them to a great sources for topics, and improvements.

*Top

Christian Web Conference 2009, Biola University

Dr.D — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:57:01 +0000

I attended The Christian Web Conference over the weekend at Biola University. It was the successor to GodBlogCon. I Met some great folks, made some new friends, and gained some new perspectives.

This was the 3rd year I’ve attended this event. The last two were part of the BlogWorld and New Media Expo in Las Vegas. I found that there were both plusses and minuses to the new/old Biola venue.

–First the plusses:

1. The location is close by (For those of us in So. Cal).

2. The cost was far less.

3. More folks attended probably because of #1 & #2.

4. Total Christian atmosphere.

5. More built-in time for mingling and networking.

6. More dialogue during classes.

7. Great mix of knowledgeable conference speakers.

8. Some good topics explored.

–Now the minuses from my perspective:

1. The classrooms were media ready but not really all that conducive to Q & A and discussions. A room with moveable seating would probably be better for some of the sessions.

2. Having the conference start at the end of a ‘short’ holiday week made it difficult for some of us with secular jobs to take Friday off.

In the last two years as part of BlogWorld Expo:

3. We were able to be exposed to some of the major movers and shakers in blogging and new media.

4. We were able to be exposed to new tech support, new programs, and apps in the exhibition hall. Both years I brought home some new stuff that I really don’t know what I would do without now.

5. Christian ‘God Bloggers’ had a presence at the conference including a booth in the exhibit area that reflected what many of us are hoping to do on the internet.

Fortunately I will be in Las Vegas on business during BlogWorld Expo 2009 in October. So I signed up for access to the exhibitions and the Keynote addresses at a minimal cost. So I’m going to end up with the best of both blogging worlds.

–Conclusion: It was a great conference and a good time to reflect on what your doing on the internet and why—with a view towards improving and becoming all that God has called you to be and do.

I am sure that I will be attending this event in the future—hope to see you there.

Start Your Own Blogging Community

Dr.D — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:55:16 +0000

Found this at BlogPerfume. Here is a site- Blogs.mu -that gives you the opportunity to host your own blogging community. You can start out for free but for less that $1 per blog you can use your own domain and eliminate the advertising or even add your own.

I have looked at a number of different sites that offer similar opportunities but this seems to be the best I’ve seen so far. They use a WordPress platform with 100’s of WP Themes and plugins available for use.

This could be ideal for a church leadership site and could include a main site with separate blogs for each pastor and leader or department. Even a forum can be hosted as part of the community.

A church women’s ministry could sponsor a community, or youth ministry, or even expanded to included regular members who would like to participate in a church blogging community. The uses could be nearly unlimited for churches and ministry groups. *Top