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How Blogs are Used for Social Change: Philippine and International Perspectives

Bjornson BernalesBlogger

Outline:

A. Definition of Blogging B. How To Use blogging for social changeC. Niches of bloggers for Social Change

1. Socio-cultural (travel, food and heritage)2. Technology3. Political4. Business and economy5. Medical6. Social Media 7. Environment

D. What are bloggers?E. Why are bloggers blogging?

Quotes from well-known bloggers

What is Blogging?

“I believe the term “blog” means more than an online journal. I believe a blog is a conversation. People go to blogs to read AND write, not just consume.” (Michael Arrington)

“It should feel genuinely good to earn income from your blog — you should be driven by a healthy ambition to succeed. If your blog provides genuine value, you fully deserve to earn income from it.” (Steve Pavlina)

“The sad truth is most bloggers, even those who incessantly work on monetization strategies, end up sitting around the few dollars a day mark and find it difficult to rise above this level.” (Yaro Starak) “Just as we don’t spend a lot of time worrying about how all those poets out there are going to monetize their poetry, the same is true for most bloggers.” (Seth Godin)

What is Blogging?“As I have repeatedly written in one form or other, blogging is not about writing posts. Heck, that’s the least of your challenges. No, blogging is about cultivating a mutually beneficial relationships with an ever-growing online readership, and that’s hard work.” (Alister Cameron)

“I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular. You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers. The writers are in it for other reasons. Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn. All you get is the pleasure of a completed task.” (Scott Adams)

“I’ve long advised that bloggers seeking to make money from blogging spread their interests across multiple revenue streams so as not to put all their eggs in one basket.” (Darren Rowse) “The fact of the matter is, if you can start up a local blog about the independent hip-hop scene in Seattle or the financial side of the restaurant business or the intersection of immigration and entrepreneurship, you’ve got a far better shot at becoming a leader in your field.” (Rand Fishkin)

How to Use Blogging for Social Change

www.laurenkgray.com

How to Use Blogging for Social Change

-Be passionate and consistent

-- Create a community

---Inspire others to do the same and to ACT NOW

Niches of Blogs for Social Change

• Technology• Political• Business and economy• Medical• Social Media • Environment• Travel, food and heritage

What are Bloggers?

The term “blogger” is used to describe a person who likes to

post blogs on the internet.

•Writers•Journalists•Entrepreneurs•Marketers•Politicians•Students•Experts

Bloggers are Advocates

… and they take risks.

“According to Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based watchdog, at least 17 “netizens” are in jail across the Middle East: eight in Iran and the rest in Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. China may be the biggest online represser, but the Middle East is not far behind.”

Why are bloggers blogging?

53% would like to share learning and experiences.41% would like to be an agent of change for social good6% to earn income and help people

•Interestingly, only 37% of Professional Full Time respondents say they derive their primary income from blogging. Of these Professional Full Time bloggers, 55% are a parent (and 57% of Entrepreneurs are a parent). That's almost 10% higher than other segments of bloggers (46% of Hobbyists, 48% of Professional Part Timers, and 48% of Corporates).• Professional Full Time bloggers are much less likely to be (otherwise) employed full time, much more likely to be self-employed, and somewhat more likely to be a stay-at-home parent or retired.•Professional Full Timers (56%) and Entrepreneurs (63%) are also more likely to be married than Hobbyists (51%), especially Entrepreneurs, who are 12% more likely.•Professional Full Timers skew older when compared to all other bloggers: Only 28% are under 34 years old, vs. 38% overall.•Professional Full Timers are fairly highly educated – 41% have at least some graduate work (31% have an actual graduate degree). This is lower than the 55% of Corporate bloggers who have done at least some grad work, but likely high relative to the general population.

Source: Technorati.com, State of the blogosphere 2011

The greatest number of respondents overall said they use their blog as a way to share expertise and experience with others. Many Hobbyists use it as a source to speak their mind on an area of interest (31%) while Entrepreneurs primarily use their blog to attract new clients to their business (29%).

Source: Technorati.com, State of the Blogosphere 2011

Your ultimate consumers are your users, not search engines.

Google * Quoted from their Webmasters manual “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide” *

Unfortunately, blogging generally requires a lot of work! Gaining a large readership for your business blog requires much of your attention and a big dose of patience.

Chadrack Irobogo * Quoted from one of his own posts “Top 3 Reasons Why Many Entrepreneurs Fail With Business Blog Marketing And How To Overcome Them!” *

“Blog is a medium for social change”

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