Blogs still largely unknown

Last Thursday, CNN released the results of a poll showing that 74% of Americans still aren't familiar with blogs, despite all of the hoopla around them in 2004.  Here is the text of the brief article about the poll that appeared on page A4 of today's The Washington Post.

Blogs Draw a Blank, Mostly

It's been the year (or so) of the blog, which is funny because most Americans say they are not familiar with the online sites.

That's the conclusion of a new CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll, which found that nearly three-quarters of the public -- 74 percent -- is "not too" or "not at all" familiar with the sites. Blogs (short for "Web logs") are online journals in which amateur, and sometimes, not-so-amateur, pundits discuss whatever is on their minds, from television shows to political candidates. The remainder of those polled were divided between those who said they were either "somewhat familiar" (19 percent) or "very familiar" (7 percent) with blogs.

Three percent of the respondents said they read blogs every day; 12 percent said they visit them at least a few times a month. Forty-eight percent said they never look at the sites, and 24 percent said they do not have access to the Internet.

What I find staggering about these statistics is that in 2005, 24 percent of the people surveyed still do not have access to the Internet.  Am I wrong to be that stunned?  Is there some role that associations should play in addressing this issue?  And trust me that it is an issue, not just of technological advancement, but of education, health, political discourse and, yes, economic growth.  Your ideas on what associations can do to lower that number are encouraged and welcomed.   

Comments

[Lisa Junker]

Jeff, thanks for starting this conversation! I agree with you and the other commenters that associations can really do a lot with blogs--the association blogs I have seen are a really neat way to communicate with members.

One barrier I've encountered in my efforts to launch a blog here at my association is the negative feelings people seem to have with the word "blog." As you've noted, many staff and members don't know what a blog is; but among those who do, I've found that the most common reaction is "A blog is one of those sleazy internet publications that's biased, unedited, and un-fact-checked, right?" I've tried to overcome this by showing examples of solid, interesting blogs, but so far I've had limited success. (Perhaps a shortened version of some of Kevin Holland's initial "Blogging for Associations" posts could be a way to approach this problem ...)

I've also run into some technical problems, since our blog would be intended for our members-only website; that leaves the hosted services out, and we're having a hard time finding blog software that we can host on our own server that doesn't pose technical problems for our web staff. It may just take a little time for a truly "plug and play" blog package to be available.

Has anyone else tried to launch a blog at their own association and encountered barriers like these? How did you get past them?

[Jeff De Cagna]

Sue, Cecilia and Bill, many thanks for you comments. A couple of thoughts:

+Sue, I completely agree with you that associations should be doing more with blogs and it is hard to understand why they aren't. Well, sort of. I attended the session that Kevin Holland of ACCA and the Blogging for Associations blog did on blogging at the Great Ideas Conference in Orlando (Bill was there too actually) and most association people didn't seem to get the value of blogs. They were like, "Why do you need a blog if you have a website?" I really wanted to say, "Because websites are done!" but I didn't think that would go over too well! :>)

Also, on the issue of Internet access, I agree with you once again that associations could be doing more to make sure that their members have Internet access. In fact, I had this idea awhile ago that associations could work together to subsidize broadband access for home and small business use in order to raise broadband adoption rates in the U.S. (Our broadband adoption rates are relatively low compared to other developed nations.) It is in our own self-interest to increase people's use of broadband because it enhances our ability to deliver content to them, not to mention the fact that it is a positive development for economic growth.

+Cecilia, I completely agree that it will take time for people to grasp the blog concept, as my story above suggests. So, like you, I wasn't surprised by the poll results, although results from the Pew Internet and American Life Project put the unawareness number at 62% which is ever so slightly better.

+Bill, I definitely think you've got a point, although the data I've seen continues to suggest that the fast-growing group of Internet users is people over 60. That may have more to do with the size of that cohort than anything else, because the anecdotal information, such as about your grandmother, certainly supports your view. My mom will be 70 in September and while she uses a computer in her job, she doesn't have one at home and doesn't really "get" the Internet. If she did, though, it would be a tremendous benefit to her, which is really the point I think we should discuss.

I go back to what I said a moment ago about associations supporting broadband adoption. As our population gets older, there will be tremendous value in increasing our connectedness. Pew reports that by the end of 2004, some 70 million adults were going on to the Internet, a 37 percent increase over the year 2000. I'm convinced that associations have a role to play in increasing that number further.

Again, thanks one and all for your comments. I greatly appreciate it.

[Bill Scott]

Maybe I'm just "coming to dance late", but I'm not really stunned by the results. I would be interested to see the demographics of those polled to see how the 24% that are without internet access stack up to those that are over the age of 65.

My grandmother doesn't even have a computer let alone ever seen the internet. I doubt that a significant amount of her peers have either, accept maybe on tv or at the doctor's office.

I also think the 24% takes into account the manual workforce in this country where internet access is not a part of their job.

So if these groups were included in the poll, I'm not surprised.

[Cecilia Sepp]

Although I'm very familiar with blogs, I am not surprised at the survey results. When I launched my blog I had to explain to alot of people what a blog was. Even when I explained it as "basically a website that you can interact with" people still didn't get it! I think people shy away from technology; it took years to get everyone up on email. I guess it will take years more to get them to do more online than shop.

[Sue Pelletier]

I think part of the problem is the poll itself--I did an informal survey a while back asking people on a listserv for my industry if they read blogs (I asked them to pick: yes, no, I have no idea what a blog is). Every single answer came back, "I have no idea what a blog is." The irony is that a fairly large proportion of those surveyed subscribe to my blog--they just didn't know that's what it is.

That issue aside, I think associations need to get blogging to familiarize people with the concept, develop more of a sense of community, increase communications and better relationships between association leaders and members, and start conversations that can last far beyond the annual meeting.

They also should be using blogs to extend their meetings to those who can't attend (they're infinitly more dynamic than just posting PowerPoints to the Web site), and create buzz about the meeting that could help prod better attendance the next year. They also could be using them to encourage volunteer team interaction, especially for those who can't meet face to face.

Why more associations aren't doing this, I do not understand. It costs nothing, or next to nothing, and is such a great tool in so many ways.

About Internet access--are associations polling their members to see who lacks this? Could they include some kind of Internet access or reduced fee for the same as a benefit of membership for those who don't currently go online? Just thinking out loud here.